‘More mud you throw, more lotus will bloom’
ATTACK Modi addresses BJP workers in Bhopal, says ‘mahagathbandhan’ formed out of fear BHOPAL:Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accused the Congress of indulging in “mudslinging” ahead of the general elections next year.
“The more mud you throw at us, the more the lotus (BJP’s election symbol) will bloom,” he said at a meeting of party workers being held on the occasion of birth anniversary of RSS ideologue and Bharatiya Jana Sangh co-founder Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, in Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal.
“Ever since I came into politics in 2001, you (Congress) have used all your strength to hurl abuses at me. There would not be a single abuse left in the dictionary now. However, the more mud you threw, the more the lotus bloomed,” he said.
“I urge you (the Congress) to come and oppose, debate and discuss on topics of development. However, they will not do this, as they find it easier to indulge in mud-slinging. But the more mud you throw, the more the lotus will bloom,” Modi said at the rally which was also addressed by BJP president Amit Shah and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Modi’s remarks come against the backdrop of a high-pitched campaign by Congress president Rahul Gandhi against Modi over the controversial Rafale fighter jet deal. Gandhi has alleged corruption and violation of rules in the signing of contract by Modi.
At the rally seen as launch of poll campaign, the prime minister said vote-bank politics has destroyed the society like “termites” and “it is our special responsibility to rid the country of vote-bank politics.”
He said the Opposition parties have formed the “mahagathbandhan” (Grand Alliance) out of fear of losing the elections.
“Due to the fear of defeat, Con- gress is begging for the alliance with small parties,” Modi said.
Modi said his government believes in social justice for all and that its ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas’ (cooperation of all, development of all) campaign is not just a slogan.
The Rafale controversy took a turn last week after former French president Francois Hollande said in an interview that contrary to what the Modi government had claimed, it was the Indian government that had “proposed” Reliance Defence’s name as the offset partner for Dassault Aviation.
Modi had announced the procurement of 36 Rafale fighters after holding talks with the then French president Hollande on April 10, 2015, in Paris.
Modi has maintained silence on the controversy over the purchase of the fighter jets even as other ministers in the central government have vociferously rejected the corruption charge.
PROCESS TO EVICT ‘ILLEGAL INFILTRATORS’ WON’T STOP, SAYS SHAH
BJP president Amit Shah said that the process of evicting “illegal infiltrators” from the country will not stop.
Notably, the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) recently published in Assam did not include the name of nearly 40 lakh people. Shah said, “The process to evict illegal infiltrators will not stop, irrespective of the Congress’ opposition.”
The Congress is raising issues to deflect the attention from crucial subjects, he alleged, adding that “there is no competition to the BJP in respect of development, security and nationalism.”
Shah also said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi was “day-dreaming” about his party’s victory in Madhya Pradesh, where the assembly elections are due later this year.