NEW DELHI/SHIMLA/CHANDIGARH: Continuing his tirade against the INDIA bloc, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the “balloon” of the Opposition alliance has burst and no one wants to vote for it in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls and hit out at the alliance constituents -- the AAP and the Congress -- for their poor shows in governance in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, respectively.
Targeting the AAP government in Punjab for being piloted by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Mr Modi, who addressed election rallies in Punjab’s Gurdaspur and Jalandhar, said that chief minister Bhagwant Mann cannot take any official decision regarding the state on his own and had to go to the Tihar Jail in Delhi to take orders from Mr Kejriwal, who was undergoing judicial custody before being released on May 10 on interim bail by the Supreme Court for campaigning in the general election. Mr Kejriwal is embroiled in the Delhi excise policy “scam” and he will have to surrender on June 2 before the jail authorities in the national capital on the expiry of his interim bail.
In Gurdaspur, Mr Modi said, "'Delhi ke darbari' are running Punjab. The Punjab CM cannot take any decision on his own. His 'maalik' went to jail and the Punjab government started shutting down. To take new orders and run the government, the chief minister (Mr Mann) had to go to Tihar Jail and he had to present his report card to him (Mr Kejriwal)."
Attacking the Congress for the anti-Sikh riots, Mr Modi alleged that when the Congress was in power, it saved the rioters. "It was Modi who got files of the anti-Sikh riots opened. It was Modi who ensured punishment for the guilty," he said.
Addressing the second public meeting in Punjab’s Jalandhar, Mr Modi said that their balloon has burst and no one wants to give their vote to the Congress and the INDIA bloc.
"If you stand on a chowk in Jalandhar and ask 100 people whose government is going to be formed, 90 will say Modi's government will return. When people have made up their minds to form the Modi government again, then who will commit the mistake of voting for someone else?” he said.
The country has seen a new period in the last 10 years, the Prime Minister said, adding that during the Congress rule, people were plagued by problems that were resolved by him.
While there was a time when the danger of terrorism was increasing in the country, his government has broken its back, Mr Modi said.
"The country understands that where there is a Congress government, problems will remain. Where there is the BJP, there are solutions. That is why the entire country is saying in one voice -- on June 4?" he asked and the gathering replied, saying "400 paar" (more than 400 seats for the ruling BJP in the ongoing polls).
In his address, the Prime Minister said that Punjab is the land of gurus, but the Congress never treated it as more than a piece of land. He accused the grand old party of dividing the state in 1947 to give power to one family.
"Kartapur Sahib is close to our border, but the Congress handed it to Pakistan," he said, referring to the country's partition.
Earlier, in the same vein, Mr Modi hit out at the Congress for shutting down government recruitment machinery in Himachal Pradesh.
In his back-to-back public meetings in support of party candidates Suresh Kashyap and Kangana Ranaut, who are contesting from Shimla and Mandi constituencies, respectively, Mr Modi hit out at the Congress over the dissolution of the Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission in Shimla in stark contrast to its promised 1 lakh jobs for the youth.
Mr Modi dubbed the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh a “talabaaz sarkar” for "putting a lock on the recruitment commission".
In February last year, the chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government disbanded the HPSSC after a paper leak was reported in December 2022.
The Prime Minister said that on one hand, there is Modi's guarantee and on the other hand, there is the Congress' model of destruction.
“The Congress deceived the people of Himachal Pradesh with plenty of lies and false promises just to gain power. They had pledged to create 1 lakh jobs in their first Cabinet meeting, but they failed to do so. This is taalebaaz Congress, which has even locked down the commission that conducts job exams,” Mr Modi said.
At the rally, the Prime Minister mentioned that Palampur, located nearby, was the venue for the BJP's working committee meeting, where they committed to constructing a "Bhavya Ram Mandir" in Ayodhya during a convention.
“Himachal Pradesh is the 'sankalp bhoomi' for the construction of the Ram Mandir. The historic pledge taken in Himachal Pradesh has now been fulfilled. The people waited for this moment and many sacrificed their lives. It's not Modi who ended this wait, but the strength of the votes of the people. Indeed, the power of one vote revoked Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
The Prime Minister stated that he has pledged for a Uniform Civil Code, advocating for equal rights under the law for all citizens, regardless of their religion.
“The Congress, on the other hand, opposes the Uniform Civil Code and supports Sharia law under the guise of protecting Muslim personal law. The country and Himachal Pradesh do not accept such a Congress,” he said.
The Prime Minister also said that communalism, casteism and dynastic politics are common in the Congress and the entire INDIA bloc.
Pointing to the recent Calcutta high court's decision to abolish the reservation for 77 Muslim communities in Bengal, Mr Modi said, “Now the leaders of the INDIA bloc, including (West bengal CM) Mamata Banerjee, are in a state of panic. Ms Banerjee has even refused to comply directly with the court's orders. For them, the Constitution and the courts hold no significance; their sole concern is their votebank.”
Speaking about the party candidate and actress Ms Ranaut, the Prime Minister said, “Mandi candidate Sushri Kangana Ranaut is not just a candidate but a representative of the aspirations of daughters. Ms Ranaut has proven that daughters too can succeed in new fields with the power of their beliefs.”
“However, the Congress makes derogatory comments about Ms Ranaut. These comments are disrespectful to Mandi, Chhoti Kashi, Himachal Pradesh and every woman in Himachal. The entire Congress is anti-women. But it is Modi who guarantees a safe environment and new heights for our country's women,” he said.
