Modi: Congress Wants to Crush Patriotism

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accused the Congress of indulging in “politics of lies” and said “the Opposition party wants to crush patriotism and create a divide in the country based on caste and religion”. Campaigning for the BJP in poll-bound Haryana, Modi asserted that there is a saffron wave in every village; everywhere one voice is heard – “Bharosa dil se, BJP phir se”.

Calling for unity ahead of the October 5 polls at a rally in Faridabad’s Palwal, Modi said, “The Congress is trying to divide society on caste lines. The Congress did not let Ram Mandir be constructed. They did not let the Constitution of India be implemented completely in J&K. They kept the women deprived of reservation. They want to keep Pakistan happy. They devise plans to mislead the patriotic people. The Congress wants to crush patriotism in this country by propagating casteism, confronting one community against another.”

Lashing out at the Congress over corruption and the party’s “anti-reservations stand”, the Prime Minister accused the Opposition party of making false promises for electoral gains. “Today Congress is making tall claims over MSP, but it used to give MSP on 3-4 crops only,” he said.

“We focus on hard work. We focus on results, and the Congress never does hard work. The Congress thinks that it has been 10 years and the people of Haryana will hand over power to them on a platter. The Congress had this misconception in Madhya Pradesh too and started to celebrate victory, but on the day of voting, the people showed them the mirror,” he added.

Continuing his attack on the Congress, Modi said: “The Congress feels that the more there is a sense of unity, their victory gets more difficult. That is why Congress is doing new experiments to break the unity of patriots.”

Exuding confidence of a third consecutive term in the state, Modi said, “It has been Haryana’s track record that it goes with the party that rules at the Centre. In Delhi, you formed the BJP government for the third time. In Haryana as well, you have decided to form the BJP government for the third term in a row.”

“I have observed the grassroots politics of Haryana for a long time as an ordinary worker. Recently, I had the opportunity to visit various regions of Haryana for election campaigns and to meet the public. Today, this is my final rally of the election in the state. You all have made this last rally even more special,” Modi said at the rally.

Modi also raised the issue of infighting within the Congress and said that those who are miffed with the party are Dalits, backwards and deprived communities. “The people are also seeing the conflict that is going on within the Congress in Haryana. The angriest with Congress are from the Dalit, backwards and deprived communities. The Dalit community has also decided that they will not become pawns to fulfil the politics of the father and son (Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his son Deepender Hooda),” he alleged.

The PM’s remarks were in reference to reports of infighting within the Congress between Sirsa MP Kumari Selja and the Hoodas over the distribution of tickets.

Haryana will vote on October 5. The results of the Assembly polls will be announced on October 8.