Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday slammed the Congress, alleging that its members are distributing a red book labelled ‘Constitution of India’ with blank pages inside. He accused the Congress of insulting the Constitution and alleged that the Congress loves Article 370 so much that it wants it to be restored in Jammu and Kashmir.
A day after kick starting his Maharashtra Assembly election campaign, Mr. Modi held rallies in Akola and Nanded.
Addressing the rally in Nanded, the PM accused the Congress of disrespecting the Constitution and misleading the people. “Congress has done many scams in the country. But now they have crossed all limits. You must have seen on TV and mobile phones that the people of Congress are distributing a red book in the name of the Constitution. Although ‘Constitution of India’ is written on the book cover, when people opened the book, they found that it did not have even a single word of Babasaheb’s (BR Ambedkar) Constitution. This is a reflection of their hate towards Babasaheb. The entire country is shocked to see this,” he said.
The PM accused Congress of trying to undermine the OBC community’s unity. He said that for the past 10 years, India has had an OBC Prime Minister who has worked for the collective good of all. However, the Congress cannot tolerate this and is now attempting to divide the OBCs into smaller, fragmented groups, he said.
Urging people to stay vigilant against “Congress’s divisive tactics”, the PM reiterated, “Hum Ek Rahenge toh Safe Rahenge (We will stay safe if we remain united).”
Earlier in the day, the PM addressed a rally in Akola, where he said that the Congress has been pushing for restoration of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. “Today, the country is concerned about another sensitive issue. In the J&K Legislative Assembly, Congress and its allies have passed a proposal to restore Article 370. I ask you, should Article 370 be reinstated in Jammu and Kashmir again? No. Would you allow its implementation? Never. Notably, all separatists, terrorists, and anti-India elements support Article 370, and this has become Congress’s stance too,” he said in his speech.
The PM further said that restoring Article 370 would reintroduce violence, strip Dalits of constitutional rights, and regress Kashmir by decades. He said, “Congress is attempting to take away rights from Kashmir’s Dalits and backward communities, while hypocritically seeking votes from Dalits in Maharashtra.”
Mr. Modi alleged that Congress governments in states such as Karnataka and Telangana are involved in corruption, rampant bribery and misuse of funds. Calling them “ATMs” for the Congress “royal family,” he warned Maharashtra to remain vigilant. “We will not let Maharashtra become an ATM for the Maha-Aghadi’s mega scandals,” Mr. Modi said.
