If Congress comes to power, it will run bulldozer over Ram temple: Modi

In a blistering attack on the INDIA bloc, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday claimed that if the Congress is voted to power, it will “run a bulldozer over the Ram Temple in Ayodhya...intends to overturn the Supreme Court order on the temple...and send Ram Lalla back to a tent.”

Modi was addressing a rally in Barabanki where he began his speech by saying “Ram, Ram” to the people.

Telling the cheering crowd that “I am neck deep in your debt and I will pay you back for every vote of yours, he further said, “The power of your one vote ended the 500-year-old long wait for the grand Ram Temple and helped install Ram Lalla at the grand temple.”

Taking a dig at the opposition, PM Modi said, “When people saw Ram Lalla in a temporary tent, they abused the government...The Congress wants to send Ram Lalla back to the tent.”

In the same breath, praising U.P. chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Modi said: “These people should learn from Yogiji how to use bulldozers-- when and where.”

Modi further remarked, “The members of Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) initially moved Ram Lalla to a tent and then proposed building a dharamshala, school, or hospital instead of the temple to appease their vote bank.”

The rally was held near Zaidpur Marg ahead of the fifth phase of polling for the 18th Lok Sabha on May 20.

Praising the Yogi Adityanath government’s One District, One Product (ODOP) scheme, he said, “Thanks to Yogiji’s ODOP mission, I no longer have to worry about purchasing gifts while going abroad.”

He also mentioned that Yogi’s “cleanliness campaign” in Uttar Pradesh had fostered a favourable investment environment.

Starting his speech in Awadhi, the prime minister said, “’Hum aapke karja ma doob gayan’ (We are indebted to you) and I vow to repay this debt through diligent work.”

He also said the BJP will score a “hat-trick” of wins in the Lok Sabha elections.

“In the new government, I have to make many big decisions for the poor, youth, women, and farmers...On one side, you have the alliance of BJP and NDA dedicated to the country’s interest. On the other hand, the INDIA bloc is in the field to create instability in the country,” he added.

Criticising the INDIA bloc, he said, “As the election progresses, these INDIA people have started to scatter.”

Targeting the SP, Modi remarked, “The ‘Samajwadi prince’ has found refuge in a ‘new aunt’. This new aunt is in West Bengal. And this aunt has told INDIA bloc that I will support you but from outside.”

In a sharp critique of the opposition and mocking SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Modi said: “Imagine the extent of their dreams? One Congress leader said that the people of Rae Bareli will elect the PM.

“Ye sunte hi Samajwadi shehzade ka dil hi toot gaya bas aansoon nahin nikle, lekin dil ke saare armaan beh gaye (on learning that Congress wants to make Rahul the PM, Akhilesh Yadav’s heart broke, he just stopped short of shedding tears).”

Urging voters not to waste their votes on a “ridiculous khichdi” coalition, Modi said, “Kamal (BJP) is the only option for you”. He specifically called for the victory of party candidate Rajrani Rawat from Barabanki and Union minister Kaushal Kishore from Mohanlalganj at every polling booth.

He accused the SP and the Congress of capitulating to appeasement politics.

“When Modi exposes their dishonesty and communalism, revealing their conversion of Hindus to Muslims, it’s claimed that Modi does Hindu-Muslim. Modi does this to enlighten the nation about their history of wrongdoing,” he said.

Modi also criticised the Congress and the SP for “demeaning leaders like Beni Babu (the late Beni Prasad Verma--a prominent leader from Barabanki), with the SP remaining conspicuously silent. Beni Babu dedicated his life to serving the nation and society but has faced disrespect from the Congress and the SP”. Beni Prasad Verma had been an associate of the SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav and he had also been in the Congress and served as Union minister in the Congress-led government.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Union ministers of state Anupriya Patel and Kaushal Kishore and Uttar Pradesh minister Satish Chandra Sharma were present at the Barabanki rally.

Modi also addressed rallies in Fatehpur and Rath in Hamirpur. He said the SP and the Congress will use people’s votes to come to power and then gift a part of their property to those who carry out “vote jihad” for them.

In Rath, Modi cautioned people against the “intentions” of the two opposition allies, the Congress and Samajwadi Party, in Uttar Pradesh.

“I have come to caution you against the SP and the Congress. They take your vote, but after coming to power, they will distribute these gifts to those who do vote jihad for them,” he said.

“This time, the SP and the Congress have made their intentions clear even before the elections. The Congress is saying that it will investigate everyone’s property. Then they will give a part of your property to the vote bank that does vote jihad for them,” he said.

The Congress says it will bring back Article 370 , he remarked, adding that the opposition party also says Pakistan has the atom bomb, but the party does not realise that Pakistan does not have the money to maintain the bomb.

He accused both the SP and the Congress of being in politics for sake of corruption and having sympathies towards terrorists. The PM alleged that leaders of these parties take helicopter to meet rioters.

He said the work on the Ken-Betwa linking project has begun with ₹40,000 crore. Upon completion, this will give wings to the development of Bundelkhand, he added. “Only the BJP can complete this project,” he said.

In Fatehpur, Modi took a jibe at the Congress saying its aim is to win just 50 seats so that it could save its “honour”, and he also mocked Rahul Gandhi for contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Rae Barely instead of Amethi which he lost to the BJP’s Smriti Irani in 2019.

He also claimed that INDIA bloc has been defeated in the first four phases of elections itself.

Modi said he had predicted that Rahul Gandhi would not dare to contest from Amethi and this has turned out to be true.

“The further news is that to save its honour, the Congress has now launched Mission 50. The target of the Congress is to get 50 seats in the entire country by any means,” he said.

Hamirpur and Fatehpur will vote in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 20.