Prayers in Pak for SP, Cong victory: PM Modi

The Samajwadi Party and the Congress are getting support from across the border, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, in a fresh attack on members of the opposition INDIA bloc.

On a day that the PM addressed three rallies — Ghosi, Deoria and Mirzapur — in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Modi attacked the two parties for allegedly wanting to turn the country’s majority community into second-class citizens by rewriting the Constitution to provide reservations on the basis of religion.

“In Pakistan, ‘duas’ (prayers) are being made for the INDI alliance of Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress. Jihadis across the border are supporting them. The SP and the Congress are making an appeal for ‘vote jihad’,” Modi said at the rally in Deoria.

“This (INDIA bloc) group is saying that if they come to power, they will reimpose Article 370 in Kashmir. They will repeal the CAA (Citizenship (Amendment) Act) which gives citizenship to the victims of Partition. Whose agenda is this... this is what these anti-India forces want?” he said.

Hitting out at the bloc, Prime Minister Modi claimed the “INDI jamaat” has been abusing him for his opposition to reservation on the basis of religion.

Referring to the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the Prime Minister said people from across the world are visiting it for a ‘darshan’ of Ram Lalla. But those of the SP and the Congress rejected the invitation for the temple’s consecration ceremony, Modi said.

“They pretend to go to temples during elections. But these people started abusing the Ram temple when such a grand festival (consecration ceremony) of our faith came after 500 years. These people were angry with the construction of the Ram temple,” he said.

The opposition has three “big conspiracies”, the PM said.

“First, the people of INDI alliance will change the Constitution and write in it afresh that reservations should be given on the basis of religion in India. Second, these INDI people will end the reservation given to SC, ST, OBC. Third, they will give the entire reservation to Muslims on the basis of religion,” Modi said in Ghosi.

The opposition has alleged that if voted to power for a third term, BJP-led NDA will rewrite the Constitution to do away with reservations.

Modi went on to add, “Today, the SP, Congress and the INDI people want to make the majority community in India second-class citizens.”

He also branded the bloc as communal and casteist, and targetted the SP, saying people associated with it have a “’chhatees ka ankara’ (animosity) with law and order”.

“The SP used to release captured terrorists and its government used to suspend police officials for catching terrorist,” Modi said and added that the party kept Purvanchal backward under a conspiracy.

“During the SP government, mafias had built palaces on public land. But since Yogi Adityanath has come (as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh) the environment has changed. Now, the ‘acche din’ (good days) of mafias are over. Houses of the poor are being built in place of their palaces. This is the difference between the BJP and the INDI alliance,” he said at the rally in Mirzapur, from where Union minister and Apna Dal (S) chief Anupriya Patel is seeking re-election as an NDA candidate.

Modi alleged that the “families of the SP and the Congress had their dynastic mindset to turn Purvanchal into a region of mafia, poverty and helplessness”.

“I want to remind you that in 2012, the SP in its manifesto had stated that Muslims should get reservation equal to that of Dalits. The INDI jamaat wants to change the Constitution for this. When I ask them (about reservation) they abuse Modi,” he said, adding he is opposing reservation on the basis of religion.

The people of the Purvanchal region will punish them for these, he said.

The region send 13 MPs to the Lok Sabha. Polling for all 13 seats — Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon, Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur and Robertsganj — will be held in the last phase of the elections on June 1.

In the 2019 elections, the NDA won 11 of the 13 seats. While the BJP won nine, its ally Apna Dal (S) led by Union minister Anupriya Patel won two seats.

INDIA bloc constituents Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress failed to win any seat in the region.

Modi also alleged that the Congress created “roadblocks” for countries that wanted to purchase the BrahMos missiles.

“There has been a demand for these in many countries but the Congress does not like it. Many countries wanted to purchase the BrahMos but the Congress government created hurdles because the ‘INDI’ people do not want India to become self-reliant in the defence sector,” Modi said.

The Prime Minister said, “The day is not far when BrahMos missiles will also be made in Uttar Pradesh.”

Referring to previous poll manifestos of the SP and the Congress, Modi said, “In 2012 (assembly polls), the SP had clearly written in its manifesto that the reservation that Babasaheb gave to Dalits, similar reservation will be given to Muslims.”

The Congress declared educational establishments as minority institutions and gave reservation to Muslims there, he said. “Before 2014, the Congress changed the law overnight to declare schools, colleges and universities as minority institutions. They declared thousands of educational institutions as minority institutions. Earlier, the reservation SC, ST and OBC students were getting there was completely ended and Muslims got reservation,” Modi said.

“What can be a bigger betrayal than this of the sons and daughters of Dalits, backward tribals?” Modi asked and added that the INDIA bloc wants to “take back the country by several decades”.

The prime minister said when “Modi openly exposes them (opposition), they raise slogans of digging Modi’s grave.” “They issue fatwas of vote jihad against Modi but as long as Modi has the protective shield of mothers and sisters of the country and the blessings of all of you, no one can do any harm to Modi,” he said.