UP polls a fight between dynasts, nationalists: Modi
PM recalls Balakot airstrike, attacks Opposition
LUCKNOW : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the ongoing Uttar Pradesh assembly polls are a fight between dynasts and nationalists.
He also took a veiled jibe at the Opposition parties, accusing them of accepting commission in defence deals when some of them were in power. He also criticised them for seeking proof of valour from the armed forces. The remarks were timed with completion of three years of the Balakot airstrike in Pakistan that was cleared by the Modi government in February 2019. Addressing rallies in Basti and Deoria in east UP, Modi also said that a strong Uttar Pradesh was a must for a strong nation. He sought to position the BJP as a party that pursued “rashtrabhakti (patriotism)” unlike “parivarbhakti (dynastic rule)” of the Opposition.
“This time, the election is between parivarvadis (dynasts) and rashtravadis (nationalists). In this election, the Dalits, the oppressed, the backwards and the general class are all united against the parivarvadis (dynasts) and are determined to defeat them,” said Modi.
Modi’s two rallies coincided with the fifth phase of voting for 61 assembly seats on Sunday. The BJP and allies had won 50 of these seats in 2017.
In the sixth phase on March 3, Basti and Deoria, along with several other east UP districts, would go to polls.
“India is working continuously to modernise its armed forces,” Modi said, referring to the present global scenario – Covid-19 crisis giving way to the Russia-Ukraine war. He also mentioned the “Operation Ganga” undertaken by his government to bring Indians stuck in Ukraine back to the country.
“Yesterday, we recalled the Balakot airstrike and the valour of the Indian Air Force which carried out strikes against those who challenged the country, in their own backyard three years back. You remember it, right? Each year on this day, the country is full of pride but some dynasts sitting in Delhi and UP don’t like it one bit,” he said.
“These people even today seek proof from the armed forces, doubt their capability and hence UP needs to be wary of such people,” he said in what was understood as a veiled jibe at the Congress and the Samajwadi Party.
“For the last two years, there has been a global upheaval. Covid-19 created a crisis, even for the bigger nations. Even now, Indians are keeping an eye on the present global developments. Even in these challenging times, India has cared for each of its citizens. We have undertaken Operation Ganga to ensure that our sons and daughters stranded in Ukraine, are brought back,” Modi said.
“The present challenging times have a message for the country; of ensuring that India becomes powerful and more self-reliant. It is time to rise above caste and other small issues and to stand one with the country. One will have to subject oneself to the grind to make the country self-reliant and these dynasts won’t be able to do this. Those who have a history of accepting commission in defence deals, those who ignored the requirements of the armed forces and those whose heart beats for terrorists involved in bomb attacks will never be able to make the country strong,” Modi said.
“Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) is the need of all Indians. For decades, these (governments of rival parties) made India rely on foreign countries for defence requirements and destroyed the country’s defence industry. But now, in UP itself, a defence corridor is coming up,” Modi added.
“After a string of defeats since 2014, these dynasts are struggling to save their own seats now,” Modi said in what was understood to be a barb at SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, who like chief minister Yogi Adityanath is contesting his first assembly election. While Adityanath is contesting from Gorakhpur, Akhilesh is in the fray in Karhal in Mainpuri.
Both seats are considered bastions of the BJP and the SP respectively. Karhal voted in the third phase on February 20 and Gorakhpur will go to polls in the sixth phase on March 3.
Modi also called upon the people to not vote on caste lines and coined a slogan. “Jaati dharm se upar uthkar badhaya hai samman, sabse pehle, garib kalyan (have risen above caste and religion, welfare of the poor is the priority),” he said.