india

Updated: Mar 01, 2019 09:03 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday expressed confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would win the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, cautioned party workers against lowering their guard, hit out at the proposed grand alliance of opposition parties, and said the Congress was looking for the oxygen of alliances with smaller parties to survive.

In a video interaction with BJP workers through the NaMo app — a mobile application that takes its name by merging the first two letters of his first name and surname — the Prime Minister said his first term was to fulfil people’s expectation, and the next five years will be to fulfil their aspirations. The interaction was held at 15,000 locations, as per the BJP.

Without naming any country, Modi said the enemy was trying to destabilise us through terror strikes and wants to bring India to a halt, but work should continue at a swifter pace.

“India will live as one. India will work as one. India will grow as one. India will fight as one. India will win as one,” he said.

“We have trust in the capability of our armed forces. So, it is very necessary that anything that dents their morale or allows our enemy to point a finger at us is not done,” he said. “Our country’s soldiers are displaying their bravery at the border and outside it as well. The country is standing with its soldiers,” he added at a time when India and Pakistan conducted air raids against each other following the February 14 terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir’s Pulwama.

Modi said India has progressed a lot during the past five years, and people should be reminded how growth had stopped after the BJP’s defeat in 2004 Lok Sabha polls. “If we have to continue on the path of progress, the direction and the speed has not only to be maintained, but accelerated,” he said. He added that some people favoured a weak government so that their vested interests were served, and attacked the opposition’s alliance effort, calling it a

“maha milawat” (big adulteration). “This maha milawat can send the country into ICU,” Modi said. He spoke about the historic rivalry between the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh, the Left and the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, the Left Democratic Front of communist parties and the Congress-led United Democratic Front in Kerala; and the Telugu Desam Party and the Congress in Andhra Pradesh to buttress his argument.

“You know why Sharad Pawar quit the Congress. You know how the Congress treated HD Deve Gowda,” he said. The PM said the Congress had announced after its Panchmarhi session that it will go solo, but has now decided to

form the alliance for its survival. “From ekla chalo [walk alone] to ham saath saath hain [we are together] is the story of Congress’s compulsion,” he added.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said the party believed this was not the right time for political events. “What really shocked us was as at this point in time, when the nation is looking towards its leadership, when the nation wants its leadership to speak to it, the PM chooses to address the booth workers of the BJP rather than address the nation. It is unfortunate that when the priority should be further strengthening the nation, the Prime Minister thinks that this is the time to strengthen their electoral booths,” Tewari said.