New Delhi/Jaipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the country is punishing the Congress for its ‘sins’ and the party that had once won 400 seats is unable to ‘find candidates to contest 300 seats’ in this Lok Sabha election.
Addressing an election rally in Rajasthan’s Jalore, the Prime Minister took a veiled swipe at former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and said, “Those who cannot win elections have ‘fled the field’ and have come to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan”.
In February, Sonia Gandhi was among the MPs elected to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. Several Congress veterans have not been fielded in this Lok Sabha election, but the party has rejected suggestions that they were shying away from contesting.
“In the first phase of voting, half of Rajasthan has punished Congress. Rajasthan, which is full of patriotism, knows that Congress can never make India strong,” he said.
Asserting that that the country does not want the conditions which existed before 2014 to return, he said, “The Congress has hollowed out the country by spreading termites of nepotism and corruption. And today, the country is angry with the Congress and is punishing it for these sins. The youths are so angry that they do not want to see the Congress’ face again.”
Targeting the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, Modi said, “They have formed an opportunistic I.N.D.I.A bloc, (it is like) a kite whose string has been cut before it could fly. It is an alliance only in name as its constituents are fighting against each other in many states.”
The Prime Minister said in this Lok Sabha election, there are 25 per cent seats in the country where people of this alliance are busy finishing off each other, contesting elections against each other. “If there is so much fighting before the elections, then you can imagine how much more they will fight for the loot after the elections. Can we hand over such a big country to these people?” he questioned.
Referring to the rule of the Congress-led UPA, the Prime Minister alleged that the Congress, which ruled for 60 years, had deprived ‘our mothers and sisters’ of ‘small things like toilets, gas, electricity, water, and bank accounts’.
Later, addressing another rally in Rajasthan’s Banswara, the Prime Minister accused the Congress party of ignoring the welfare of tribals, saying it could not find a single person from the Adivasi community who could be the president of the country during its 60-year rule.
“Were the tribals not capable? Just see the Congress’ mindset. But in 2014, you blessed us.., and now a tribal daughter is the country’s President. This is real participation. This is the spirit of the Constitution given by Babasaheb,” he said.
Modi said that the BJP is committed towards the welfare of the poor and works honestly, but the Congress sells “fear, hunger and corruption in its shop”.
