Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed on Tuesday that the INDIA bloc formed by the Opposition parties was spreading rumours about the change of Constitution in the wake of the BJP’s return to power with majority in an attempt to save its sinking boat.
Addressing a rally in Prayagraj (Allahabad Lok Sabha constituency) in support of BJP candidate Neeraj Tripathi, Modi recalled the days of Emergency during the prime ministership of Indira Gandhi and her subsequent loss from the Rae Bareli parliamentary seat.
“Who would better understand the actual threat to the Constitution than the people of Prayagraj? The boat of the INDIA alliance is sinking and they are only surviving on the support of lies. They are spreading lies about the Constitution,” the Prime Minister said, adding, “The Constitution faces threat from those who hatched a conspiracy to change it during the Emergency. It was the Allahabad High Court which put a stop to the Congress’ dictatorship.”
Referring to Indira Gandhi’s loss in Rae Bareli after the Emergency, Modi said, “When attempts were made to tamper with the Constitution, the High Court nullified the election of Indira Gandhi. So many years have passed but the Congress has not changed its character.”
Citing “reservation to minorities” in Karnataka, he said if the Congress comes to power it would take away quota from Dalits and backward classes and would give it to their vote bank and those involved in “vote jihad”.
Claiming that the INDIA alliance leaders failed to digest progress of the country, Modi alleged that “Congress ke shehjade” (Rahul Gandhi) goes abroad just to abuse the country. The Opposition alliance wants to bring back Article 370 in Kashmir and do away with the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), he claimed.
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“The INDI alliance has a ‘chhattis ka rishta’ (a bad equation) with good governance and the BJP’s faith. The parties of INDI alliance feared that if they did much for Kumbh their vote bank might feel bad about it,” he said, citing incidents of stampede during the Kumbh Mela in the past.
There used to be a competition between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress over appeasement (of minorities), the PM went on to claim. “Those who boycotted the Ram Temple have referred to Sanatan Dharma as dengue and malaria. The shehjade of SP and Congress cannot see anything beyond their own families. The previous SP government turned the Uttar Pradesh State Service Commission into a family commission, where posts were given to either people from a particular caste or those giving bribes,” Modi said.
The mafia used to occupy the lands of the poor then, he added. Now, the BJP government demolishes their illegal palaces and builds houses for the poor, he said.
The Congress, he claimed, wants to give the entire credit of the country’s Independence to just one family.
Drawing a parallel between the spirit of Allahabad and that of today’s India, he said, “Big countries tell me that they also need India’s digital technology. India is raising its voice in the world. When India hosts the G20, the whole world is surprised. This is the nature of Prayagraj, people here are neither subdued by anyone nor do they live in fear of anyone.”
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BJP’s Allahabad candidate Neeraj Tripathi, the son of former Uttar Pradesh Assembly speaker and West Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, is pitted against Ujjwal Ram Singh, the son of former Samajwadi Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Reoti Raman Singh.
Polling in the constituency will take place in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha election on May 25. The PM also addressed a women’s conference in his Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency,
—With PTI inputs
