PM MODI TAKES FIGHT AGAINST CONG TO SONIA’S HOME TURF IN UP

RAEBARELI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress of neglecting the country’s defence sector and trying to create “distrust against judiciary”, launching a scathing attack on the opposition at Sonia Gandhi’s constituency of Rae Bareli on Sunday.

In his first public rally after the Supreme Court gave a clean chit to the Centre on the Rafale deal, Modi said the ruling National Democratic Alliance government was trying to boost the armed forces and equip them with modern weapons even as “the other party is trying to weaken it”.

At the event, which came five days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’S election losses in the heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Modi highlighted his government’s initiatives for farmers and his commitment to increasing their income. He called for a door-to-door campaign to expose the “Congress’s lies”, sounding the bugle for next year’s elections on UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s home turf.

“For these very people the defence ministry, the defence minister, officers of the Indian Air Force, the government of France, are all lies... now the Supreme Court also appears to be a lie to them,” Modi said in his 50-minute address, nearly 30 minutes of which were devoted to the Rafale deal.

“Is the Congress spreading lies because the BJP government’s defence deals don’t have any (Ottavio) Quattrocchi uncle or Christian Michel? Is it because of this that Congress is trying to create an atmosphere of lack of trust in the judiciary?” Modi asked.