Powerful people in India, abroad joined hands to remove me: Modi

PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi on Saturday said big and powerful people in India and abroad have joined hands to remove him from power.

Citing recent incidents of bomb blast in Bengaluru and the murder of a student in hub ball i in north Karnataka, he urged the people of the state to be alert about the Congress, and also accusedthe state government of being“focused on corruption ”.

“Mothers and sisters have come in a large number here. your struggle and the challenges you face to nurture your family, Modi has seen this in his house. These days big and powerful people in the country and abroad have united to remove Modi," he said.

“But because of Nari Shakti and ma at rush a kt i' s blessings and Suraksha kavach (safety armour), Modi is able to move on fighting challenges,” he said, addressing campaign rallies in Chikkaballapur and Kolar.

“Serving mothers, sisters and daughters and protecting them is Modi's priority ," the PM said, listing out measures taken by his government for women' s welfare in 10 years. Referring to the Ra mesh war am ca feb last and the Hubballi college murder, he said, “Women are being attacked in the state, bombs are going off in busy areas, people c han tingbhaj ans are being attacked... These are not ordinary incidents. Which is why I appeal to the people of Karnataka to stay alert against Congress.”

Targeting the Opposition, he said the INDIA bloc does not have a leader or a vision for the future and carries the baggage of scams from the past .“the message from Chikkaballapur and Kolar is clear that it wants the Mo di governmentagain ,” pm mod it old a large gathering of NDA supporters.

“The first phase of voting has created enthusiasm in the country and that enthusiasm is visible here too. The voting in the first phase has gone in favour of NDA and Viksit Bharat,” he said.

Praising JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H DD eve Gowda, who shared the stage with him, for his energy and commitment at the age of 90, Mo di said he draws inspiration from him. “His (Gowda) commitment toward ska rn at aka, the pain in his heart for the plight of the state today and the 'josh' in his voice are testimony for Karnataka's bright future,” he said.

Earlier, in his speech at the Chikkaballapura rally, Gowda hit out at the Congress — Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Mini ste rD K Shivakumar — over a sarcasmlaced newspaper advertisement campaign alleging that the Modi government's gift to Karnataka was empty 'Chombu' (a small, round water container).

Pointing at scams like 2G and coal gate during the UP A rule underformer pm man mo hans ingh, he said, “After looting the resources of the state and the country during the Congress regime, Modi was given the empty 'Chombu', which the Prime Minister has turned into an 'Akshaya Patre' in 10 years.”

Modi, later addressing a public rally in Bengaluru, said that in 2014 and 2019, a strong government was formed with people giving record seats to the BJP, which has made the country strong. India was earlier considered among “fragile five”, but today every country in the world wants to strengthen friendship with India and investors want to invest in the country, he said.