NEW DELHI: Addressing a rally after laying foundation stones and dedicating to the nation various development projects in Sikar, in poll-bound Rajasthan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday lashed out at the Rajasthan government, invoking sacked Congress minister Rajendra Gudha's "Red Dairy". Modi said that the dark deeds of the Congress are recorded in the Red Diary, which will eventually lead to the party's defeat in the forthcoming Assembly polls in the state.
At a public rally in Sikar, Modi took a dig at the Opposition, particularly the Congress, saying the slogan "Indira is India and India is Indira" during the era of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi has now changed to "UPA is India and India is UPA".
"The Red Diary is a fresh product of the Congress' 'loot ki dukan'. It is said that the dark deeds of the Congress are recorded in the diary, which will defeat the party in elections in the state," he said.
The Red Diary was recently produced by Gudha in the state Assembly, which he claimed contained the details of the alleged irregular financial transactions of chief minister Ashok Gehlot.
In his address, Modi also targeted the Gehlot government over various recruitment paper leaks in the state. He said: "A paper leak industry is running in Rajasthan. The Congress government will have to be removed to fulfil the dreams of youths."
"There is only one slogan this time — Nahi Sahega Rajasthan. Rajasthan will not tolerate atrocities against sisters and daughters. Today in Rajasthan, there is only one voice, one slogan — lotus will win, lotus will bloom," he said.
Pointing to the large number of people present at the rally, Modi said it was an indication of people's support for the BJP and its victory in the upcoming polls. "I have a guarantee. The fortunes of Rajasthan will change and that lotus will bloom," he said.
The Prime Minister called the Congress the biggest directionless party in the country. "Their method is the same, which has always been adopted by the enemies of the country," he said.
At the Sikar rally, Modi once again derided the Opposition for naming their alliance "INDIA". He cited reviled names such as the East India Company and the banned Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) to assert that people cannot be misled merely by the use of the country's name.
"India was there in the name of the East India Company, but its intention was to loot India. India was also there in the name of the terror organisation SIMI, which changed its name after a ban on PFI, and the intention of the organisation was to damage India through terror attacks," he said.
He noted that Congress and its allies have started a new trick; this trick is to change the name. "In earlier times, when a generation or a company used to get defamed, it immediately put up a new board and tried to run its business by confusing people. The Congress is also doing the same. To make sure the UPA's misdeeds are not remembered, it has changed their alliance's name to INDIA," Modi said.
During his address, the Prime Minister asked the public at the rally if the Opposition leaders cared about India. "If they cared about India, would they have raised questions on surgical strike and air strike? If they cared about India, would they have doubted the bravery of Army personnel in Galwan?" Modi said, adding that these are the same people who used to cry in front of the world whenever there were terrorist attacks but did nothing about them.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister dedicated 1.25-lakh PM Kisan Samriddhi Kendras to the nation and described them as one-stop centres for farmers that would pave the way for their prosperity.
The Prime Minister said the Centre has taken many decisions in the interest of farmers during the last nine years and has made arrangements from seed to market for them.
"The PM Kisan Samriddhi Kendras in the country will directly benefit crores of farmers at the village and block level," Modi said.
He mentioned the onboarding of farmer producer organisations (FPOs) on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and said that it will make it easier for the farmers to take their produce to the market from any part of the country.
In his address, the Prime Minister also mentioned the launch of Urea Gold, new medical colleges and Eklavya Model Schools.
Talking about farmer welfare measures, the Prime Minister said that his government is working earnestly to reduce the expenses of the farmers and support them in their time of need.
The Prime Minister asserted that the price of urea in the country is an example of the government saving farmers from financial burdens. "The government will not let the urea prices bother our farmers. When a farmer goes to buy urea, he has the belief that it is Modi’s guarantee," he said.
Referring to the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, which led to disruptions in fertiliser supplies, the Prime Minister underlined that the present government did not let the hike in fertiliser prices affect the farmers of the country.
The Prime Minister said that a bag of urea, which costs Rs 266 in India, costs about Rs 800 in Pakistan, about Rs 720 in Bangladesh, about Rs 2,100 in China and about Rs 3,000 in the USA.
Talking about the PM Kissan Samman Nidhi, Modi said that it is the largest scheme in the world where funds are directly transferred into the bank accounts of farmers. He informed the rally that more than '2.60 lakh crores have been directly transferred to the bank accounts of farmers so far.
