lok-sabha-elections

Updated: Apr 12, 2019 12:32 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday continued his spate of attacks on the Congress saying that the party is “not concerned” about protecting the interests of the nation. PM Modi said the people have given a new slogan, “remove Congress to remove poverty”.

“In the past five years, the world has seen a strong and decisive government. Before that there was a remote-controlled government for ten years when news of scams was the order of the day,” said PM Modi, who was addressing an election rally in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar.

PM Modi said, “Today, the world identifies the present government as a strong one. You are going to decide the furure course in the election. You have to decide what you want, an honest chowkidar or a corrupt naamdaar (a reference used by the prime minister for Congress president Rahul Gandhi). You have to decide if you will vote for the heroes of Hindustan or advocates of Pakistan.”

In his election speech, the prime minister did not mention Balakot air strike by the Indian Air Force directly but made a veiled reference to it while targeting the Congress-led Opposition camp. He alleged that under the previous UPA government, permission was not given to the armed forces to attack terror camps across the Line of Control.

PM Modi also hit out at Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, an influential leader in Maharashtra and former defence minister. Pawar’s NCP was in alliance with the Congress in the UPA government. The two parties are contesting the Lok Sabha elections in alliance in Maharashtra.

The prime minister said the Congress and the NCP are supporting those parties advocating “separation of Jammu and Kashmri from India and having two prime ministers in the country”.

Taking a jibe at Pawar, PM Modi said, “I have no hopes from the Congress but what has happened to Sharad Rao Pawar, who is from the land of legendary Chhatrapati Shivaji (a medieval ruler in Maharashtra)…You quit the Congress on the issue of nationalism. For how long will you maintain silence on the demand for two prime ministers in the country?”

PM Modi said his government has taken decisive action to combat terrorism. He said, “Under Congress-NCP government, the nation only received pain. There were Mumbai terror attacks and Pune bomb blasts…You have seen the government of this chowkidar. Where have those bomb blasts gone?”

The prime minister said, “This chowkidar has created fear among the terrorists that a single misdeed by them will be accounted for…they will be taken out from the deepest hole.”

Ahmednagar, the venue of PM Modi’s election rally, will go to the polls on April 23 in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections. Maharashtra sends a total of 48 MPs to the Lok Sabha.

Polling for seven Lok Sabha seats of Maharashtra was held on Thursday. The state will vote in three more phases on April 18, April 23 and April 29 for the remaining 41 Lok Sabha seats. Votes will be counted on May 23.