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Updated: Feb 09, 2019 18:14 IST

Facing sharp criticiam from the opposition over issues like Rafale deal, farm distress and unemployment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asserted at his Agartala rally in Tripura that his government in New Delhi “works with good intention.” He said the people of the country will teach the opposition parties “a lesson for peddling lies”.

PM Modi lashed out at the parties working for opposition unity reiterating his charge that this is a ‘mahamilawat’ (highly adulterated) that favours “middlemen” in the government. “They are trying to form a ‘majboor’ (weak) government in Delhi. They are worried about the present ‘majboot’ (strong) government,” PM Modi said.

He alleged that “an olympic” is going on among the leaders of ‘mahamilawat’ to see “who hurls more abuses at Modi.”

He said, “All the partners of ‘mahamilawat’ have understood that the youth, the poor and farmers of the country see their aspirations in Modi.”

“Those who get their photographs clicked in Delhi holding hands…and also in Kolkata…they don’t see to each other in Tripura, Kerala or Bengal…The people of the country will teach them a lesson for peddling lies,” he said.

PM Modi has been facing severe criticism from the opposition parties over Rafale deal, which has put the BJP and the NDA government on defensive. The Congress has led the charge against the Modi government on the issue of Rafale.

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Congress president Rahul Gandhi has alleged that PM Modi scrapped the defence deal being negotiated during the UPA government and replaced it with the new Rafale deal “with intention to benefit” a business group. Gandhi has repeated his charge several times saying, “Chowkidar chor hai (the watchman is a thief).”

The BJP has responded to Gandhi’s attack by accusing him of “peddling lies” to spread misinformation about Rafale deal. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday called it “flogging a dead horse” to dismiss the allegations leveled by the Congress president.

PM Modi listed out his government’s scheme aimed at benefitting the poor, farmers and the middle class. At his Tripura rally, PM also patted the back of the Biplab Deb government of Tripura, where the BJP formed government in 2018 after 25 years of Left rule.

The prime minister listed out central schemes including recently launched PM Kisan, Ayushman Bharat, Ujjwala Yojana for LPG connection and insurance for workers to counter the opposition’s charge that the BJP-led government’s policies are not benefitting the people.

“Tripura was deprived of development on the pretext of being a landlocked region. It is now being made gateway of the South East Asia under the BJP government,” the prime minister said adding, “I was surprised to know that for the first time in Tripura, paddy was procured at MSP (minimum support price).”

He also gave credit to the Biplab Deb government for implementing seventh pay commission in Tripura slamming the previous Left Front government saying, “It was not done by those who claim to be champions of the workers and the poor.”

Earlier, PM Modi reached Agartala after having unveiled a series of developmental projects in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. Here, he unveiled a statue of Tripura’s last ruler Birbikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur, and inaugurated a 23-km long railway track.

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