Madhya Pradesh election: Modi attacks Congress, hails BJP’s welfare schemes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a veiled swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as he accused the Opposition of abusing him for uprooting corruption and hailed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s outreach and welfare programme in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh.

On the penultimate day of campaigning, Modi addressed two rallies at Betul and Shajapur, and also held a mega road show in Indore, traversing 1,5km across three assembly constituencies in the state’s largest city in an open-air motorised chariot. He said that there was a wave for the BJP, which looking to retain power in the state that goes to the polls on November 17.

Addressing a rally in Betul , the PM hit out at the Congress, whose leader Gandhi had said a day before in Harda that “made in China” phones were dominating the Indian market.

“One wise leader of the Congress said yesterday that everyone in India has Made in China mobile phones. Arre murkhon ke sardar, (king of fools) in which world do you live? The leaders of the Congress have this mental disease of not recognising the achievements of their own countrymen,” the PM said.

He wondered which lens the Congress leaders use to remain clueless about what is happening in the country. “The leaders of the Congress are flying so high that they can’t see the poor on the ground and are also clueless about the ground realities,” the PM said.

He said India had become the second-largest manufacturer of mobile phones in the world. “When the Congress was in power at the Centre, India used to make mobile phones worth less than ₹20,000 crore. Today, India manufactures mobile phones worth over ₹3.5 lakh crore. We export mobile phones worth nearly ₹1 lakh crore to other countries,” Modi added.

In Shajapur, the PM accused the Congress of threatening government officers and employees as they feared losing the elections and asked employees not to feel scared as the BJP will return to power.

“The Congress got nervous and started threatening government employees. I am assuring government employees that they don’t need to be afraid of Congress threats. Please do your work with honesty. MP has BJP and it will remain so after December 3,” he said.

The PM Modi said the Congress also had a problem with him and abused him repeatedly.

“In 2014, you chose me to serve the nation. They are abusing me but I face these abuses for you. I am bearing this hate for you. Why do they hate me? Because Modi has put a ban on corruption and scams? The BJP government sends ₹100 and beneficiaries get every penny through direct bank account (DBT) transfer,” he added.

Modi said this Diwali, business of ₹3.75 lakh crore was recorded and most of the products sold were swadeshi (locally manufactured). He added India will celebrate Diwali on December 3, when the results of the five-state assembly elections are declared.

The PM also hit out at Gandhi, who said in Bhopal on Monday that BJP leaders were educating their children in English-medium schools and wanted poor children to study Hindi.

“The Congress was in power for the past 50 years and only a few people learnt English. Did we lock any English-medium school in India? They taught engineering and medicine in English but they never taught you English. When you go to the doctor, you talk in your language. But this great intellectual man said you don’t need to learn your language. This thinking spoiled the country,” he said.

Referring to the introduction of medical and engineering courses in Hindi, Modi said that Congress never wanted poor people to become doctors and engineers. “That’s why the BJP government started these courses in Hindi, but it (Congress) is even opposing that,” he added.

The PM said that he understood the pain of the poor as he belonged to a poor family, and that is why he provided free ration during Covid 19. “God gave me the power and I decided that I won’t allow any poor to sleep without food. I won’t allow tears in the eyes of any mother. I opened ration stores. We have started providing free ration and it will continue for the next few years,” he said.

Focussing on tribal voters, the PM Modi said he brought drinking water from the Narmada to tribal areas and the Congress lied to tribespeople for years to get their votes. “Congress never fulfils its promise. The Congress promised farm loan waiver but failed to implement it. On other side, the BJP does what it says. Have we ever written in the manifesto that a tribal woman will become President of India? A tribal woman born and brought up in a village, Droupadi Murmu, become the President of India,” he said.

In the evening, Modi lead a massive roadshow in Indore, riding an open-air chariot built on a small four-wheeler. The route began from the city’s Bada Ganpati square and ended two hours later, in Rajbada intersection.

A corridor was created for the roadshow by covering the barricades on both sides of the road with saffron cloth, a BJP leader said. As he passed through, Modi waved at people who thronged both sides of the road, many of whom showered petals on him. They also waved pictures of the Ram temple being built in Ayodhya along with Modi’s photos, chanting his name.

The prime minister’s chariot passed through Indore-1, Indore-4 and Indore-3 assembly constituencies over the course of an hour.

Modi also garlanded the statue of Ahilyabai Holkar, the ruler of the erstwhile Holkar dynasty of Indore, and paid homage to her. State BJP president V D Sharma accompanied the PM.

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