Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launches poll campaign, accuses Oppn. of maligning govt image

Bhopal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the INDIA bloc is mulling ‘One year, One PM formula’ to settle its PM candidate issue.

Addressing an election rally in Betul in Madhya Pradesh, Mr Modi said that the BJP has already declared “Modi” as its PM candidate, whereas INDIA bloc has yet to settle the issue over who will be their PM if the coalition comes to power.

“Some media reports suggest that the coalition partners are discussing who will become the Prime Minister after their victory. It is said that these people are now thinking about the ‘One year, One PM formula’”, Mr Modi said.

“Their intention now is to wrestle for the PM’s chair. One will sit on top, while four people pull the chair’s legs together”, he said sarcastically.

Mr Modi hit out at Congress, saying that the party planned to implement reservation on the basis of religion in the country after making similar provision in Karnataka.

He said that the Congress government in Karnataka has introduced reservation on the basis of religion which is against the spirit of the Constitution.

The Karnataka government also included all the Muslim castes in the other backward class (OBC) category which is illegal.

“Today, a truth of the Congress has come to the fore that stunned everyone. Our Constitution prohibits providing reservation based on religion. Congress is preparing to cut the quota of ST-SC-OBC by 15 percent and then apply reservation based on religion”, he said.

This would hurt the SC, ST and OBC, he added.

Mr Modi also raised the issue of inheritance tax suggested by senior Congress leader Sam Pitroda and said that the Congress wanted to snatch the assets of the common people and rights of their children.

Mr Modi gave indications on the political future of former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan saying that he wanted to take him to the Centre.

He praised Mr Chouhan for ensuring development of Madhya Pradesh during his stint as chief minister of the state.

Four-time chief minister Mr Chouhan, a sitting BJP MLA from Budhni, is now seeking election from Vidisha Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh.

Earlier, Mr Modi addressed a public meeting at Bartuma near Sagar in the state.

He also held a roadshow in Bhopal in the evening before winding up his day’s tour to the state.