INDIA bloc talking lies, BJP respects Constitution: Modi
JAIPUR: The opposition INDIA bloc partners are spreading lies that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would abolish the country’s Constitution, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday, adding the Constitution is as sacred as Gita, Ramayan, Mahabharat, Bible and Quran for his government.
Addressing an election rally in Barmer in support of BJP candidate Kailash Choudhary, Modi said the people of the country want to punish the Congress for its attempts to prevent the BJP government from doing good work.
“Congress is resorting to lies in the name of the Constitution … this has become the fashion of the INDI alliance. The Congress, which made Babasaheb Ambedkar lose elections, did not give him Bharat Ratna, and tried to abolish the Constitution by imposing emergency in the country, is today taking cover of the Constitution to abuse Modi,” he said, accusing the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc of spreading lies that the BJP will abolish the Constitution.
He added: “As far as the Constitution is concerned, even if Babasaheb came back, he would not be able to abolish it. For our government, the Constitution is as sacred as the Gita, Ramayan, Mahabharat, Bible and Quran.”
“It is Modi who started celebrating Constitution Day for the first time in the country. Congress actually opposed celebrating the day, their speech in the Parliament is available. It was Modi who developed the five pilgrimage sites associated with Baba Saheb,” he added.
Modi further said that if he returns to power for the third time, he will inaugurate the oil refinery in Barmer, which will go to polls on April 26 in the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls.
“People of the country are talking of 400 (seats for the BJP in the Lok Sabha election) because for ten years you tried to stop me from doing good work in Parliament, so now the people want to punish the Congress and they have made up their mind to wipe out the Congress,” he said.
Modi also held a roadshow in Dausa in support of BJP candidate Kanhaiya Lal Meena on Friday evening.
Continuing his attack on the Congress, Modi said the party boycotted the “pran pratishtha (consecration ceremony)” of the Ram temple in Ayodhya but gave protection to those who pelted stones on religious processions on Ram Navami in Rajasthan.
“Congress welcomes illegal migrants who enter the country but it opposes the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which will give citizenship to the Dalits and Sikhs who opposed Partition,” he said.
Stone pelting incident occurred during a Ram Navami procession in Rajasthan’s Karauli district in April 2022 when Congress was in power.
Modi said the INDIA bloc has hatred against India which shows in their manifestos.
“The Congress manifesto had the imprint of the Muslim League which was responsible for the Partition. Now another INDI alliance partner (Communist Party of India-Marxist) has made a dangerous declaration… now the INDI alliance says we will destroy India’s nuclear weapons,” he said.
Modi added: “I want to ask Congress on whose behest is your alliance partner working on? What sort of alliance is this which wants to make India powerless? Under whose pressure does the INDI alliance want to destroy India’s nuclear power? On one hand Modi is working to make India a powerful country while the INDI alliance are making a declaration to make India weak.”
Modi alleged that the Congress wants to divide the country on lines of language caste and region. “It always opposes any work that is in interest of the country. Congress is the first to stand with anti national forces. In our country, we worship Shakti, but Congress shehzada says he will destroy the Shakti of Hindu dharma… you don’t know the power of my mothers and sisters… they will deal with those who want to destroy
Shakti,” he said.
Modi hit out at the previous Congress government for delaying the ₹72,000 crore oil refinery being established in Barmer.
“If not for the Congress government, I would have inaugurated the refinery in my second term but Congress stalled the project… but I guarantee you in my third term I will come to inaugurate the refinery and on that day I will thank you for the election victory,” he said.
Modi said at one time the situation in Kutch region of Gujarat was comparable to Barmer but when as chief minister of Gujarat he changed the fortunes of Kutch which is among the fastest growing districts in the country today. He said Barmer too would witness a development boom in coming days.
Modi blamed the Congress for delaying the Barmer airport and stalling the ERCP project that will bring water to eastern Rajasthan, as well as for doing corruption in the Jal Jeevan Mission. He said women had to trudge for hours in the desert to fetch water but the Congress never bothered about them but when the BJP came to power, it launched the JJM to end water woes.
Ahead of the PM’s rally former MLA Manvendra Singh, son of BJP founder late Jaswant Singh, rejoined the BJP on Friday. Singh had quit the BJP in 2014 after differences with the state leadership and joined the Congress but he was keen on returning. Modi remembered Jaswant Singh in his speech.
Many migrants from Pakistan are settled in Barmer which also has a large number of SCs, Muslims, Jats and Rajputs. Modi reached out to all constituents saying Congress had never bothered about the poor, Dalits, or tribals. He spoke of the Vishwakarma scheme launched by his government to support handcraftsmen.
To help small farmers, he said his government was promoting millets as a super food across the world.
He said Congress did not develop border villages because they felt it would increase the possibility of an enemy country usurping our land. He elaborated on infrastructure development work done by the BJP government in border villages.
Cong hits back
Rebutting the remarks made by the PM, Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi said Modi was raking up irrelevant issues.
“It is well known that it is because of the Congress that we have democracy and the Constitution in the country. As for changing or abolishing the Constitution, it is not we who are saying it, it is the BJP leaders. There are videos of the BJP leaders saying they will change the Constitution.”
He said that Modi had not spoken on any issue relevant to Rajasthan or on any of the achievements of his government or the promises that have been fulfilled.
“People are fedup.There are issues of inflation and corruption but the PM did not talk on that. He only played the emotional card in the hope that he can fool the people but that will not happen.”