Azamgarh/Bhadohi (UP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accused the opposition of spreading lies and inciting violence over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and said that the law is here to stay.
Addressing an election rally in Azamgarh a day after the first set of citizenship certificates under the new law were issued, he dared the opposition parties to muster whatever forces they could against the CAA. They will never be able to scrap the law, he asserted, saying in Hindi, 'Kya iss desh me ab tak koi mai ka lal paida hua hai jo CAA ko khatam kar sake?'
These people are Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists. They have been living in the country for a long time as refugees and were victims of the partition of the country done on the basis of religion," he said. Modi addressed three more back-to-back election rallies in quick succession in Bhadohi, Jaunpur and Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh, targeting the Congress and the Samajwadi Party.
In Bhadohi, where the two parties are backing a Trinamool Congress candidate as INDIA bloc partners, the prime minister accused them to trying out West Bengal's TMC politics in Uttar Pradesh. The brand, he claimed, represented politics of appeasement and harassment of Dalits and women. In Pratapgarh, he said the opposition INDIA bloc wants to appoint five prime ministers in five years and predicted that the alliance will disintegrate after June 4, when the Lok Sabha election results are out.
Khata khat khata khat, he said in Hindi, suggesting that it will happen rapidly -- and also mocking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for using the phrase to claim that a fixed stipend would flow into the accounts of poor women if his party comes to power.
Modi accused the Congress and its allies of neglecting the refugees over the years because they were not part of their own vote bank. "The Congress and the SP tried to spread lies in the name of CAA. They tried to push Uttar Pradesh and the entire country towards riots," he claimed.
"You are frauds... you forced the country to burn in the fire of communalism," he said, claiming he had exposed the opposition. He said voters in Kashmir felt proud to participate in the festival of democracy. "The excitement shown by people of Srinagar in polls is proof that no one can bring back Article 370 and do vote bank politics."
"Earlier during polls in Kashmir, there used to be protests, people used to fear for their lives and get threats from terrorists. But this time previous polling records were broken in Srinagar," the PM said. At the rallies, he listed development projects undertaken in the state and praised Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's handling of law and order.
"Terrorists accused of explosions were pardoned. Sleeper cells were given the cover of politics. Due to this attitude, terrorism rose across the country, Modi said, attacking to former CM Akhilesh Yadav whom he called SP's "shezade", or prince. The SP and Congress are two parties but have one shop where they sell appeasement, lies, dynastic politics and corruption, he charged.
"They have come with a triple dose of appeasement. They want to snatch the reservation granted to the SC, ST and OBC and give it to their vote bank. The INDI alliance wants to take half your property and give it to its vote bank. They want to divide the country's budget and allot 15 per cent of it for the minority," Modi said.
"We got the Ram temple after a wait of 500 years. The entire country is happy, every Indian living across the world is happy. But these 'parivarvadis' are hurling abuses. The shehzada' of the SP and his uncle call the Ram temple useless," he said. In Bhadohi, the PM lashed out at what he called were attempts to bring West Bengal's Trinamool Congress politics to Uttar Pradesh.
The Congress and the SP are backing a TMC candidate in this parliamentary constituency. Modi called this a political experiment, a trial of TMC politics in the state. "TMC politics means murder of Hindus, harassment of Dalits and adivasis, atrocities on women. So many BJP leaders were killed there and TMC MLAs say that they will kill Hindus by drowning them in river Ganga," he said.
The TMC politics included the "poisonous arrow of appeasement", calling Ram temple "impure", banning Ramnavami celebrations, sheltering Bangladeshi intruders and "vote jihad", he alleged, picking on a term used by an SP candidate.
Why does the TMC abuse people going from UP and Bihar to Bengal. Babua, at least ask your bua (aunt) about it. After abusing them, she comes and seeks votes from the people of UP," he added, referring to TMC leader Mamata Banerjee. In Pratapgarh, the prime minister said the INDIA block sought to replace a stable government with one that will have five prime minister over five years.
"The Modi government will definitely be formed after June 4 but the INDI alliance will disintegrate 'khata khat khata khat'," he said, mocking Rahul Gandhi without taking his name. "These people will run away 'khata khat khata khat' after the elections. Only we will remain. I guarantee that I will work day and night to serve you," he said.
And, referring to Gandhi and Yadav, he said the shehzade of Lucknow and Delhi will leave for a vacation abroad. Running a country was not easy for people born with privileges, he said, taunting the Gandhi family over the loss of Amethi in the last election. They have gone from Amethi and will go even from Rae Bareli," he said.
