Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday said it was left to him to implement the constitution after many years in Jammu and Kashmir after Congress failed to implement the constitution drafted by B R Ambedkar.
Training his guns on the opposition in his second rally in Bihar in 72 hours, a National media agency reported reported that the PM sought to know why the Congress had failed to implement the constitution drafted by B R Ambedkar.
“It was left to Modi to implement the constitution after many years in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said and termed the statement of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge “an insult to the martyrs”.
Without naming Kharge, PM Modi came down heavily on him, “The post of Congress president is not small. The leader perhaps said in Rajasthan why Modi was talking about Article 370 in Rajasthan. I want to ask if Jammu and Kashmir is part of India or not. Did our jawans from Bihar not sacrifice their lives serving in Jammu and Kashmir? Did the sons of Rajasthan not sacrifice their lives here too?”
He told the crowd at the event in Nawada district that “Ram Navami is approaching”, and asked them “not to forget who sinned”, referring to the Opposition “boycotting” the Ram Temple inauguration in Ayodhya.
The PM brought up “jungle raj”, Article 370, and triple talaq, and dubbed the opposition INDIA bloc “a tukde tukde gang and one opposed to Sanatan”.
On the opposition boycotting the Ram Temple inauguration, he said, “They (opposition) have an issue with Modi ki guarantee and want to ban it… I had said that a grand temple would be constructed in Ayodhya. The Congress and RJD made every effort to prevent it. When the grand temple in Ayodhya was inaugurated (this January), they boycotted it. The temple is constructed with people’s donations and not government funds. They had an issue with Lord Rama and our heritage. They did not attend the temple’s pran pratishtha. Ram Navami is coming, remember those who sinned.”
In an apparent reference to controversial remarks of Karnataka MP D K Suresh, PM Modi said, “Congress is talking about separating South India (from India). Its manifesto has resonance with the ideology of the Muslim League. It has not released a manifesto but an appeasement document.” In an indirect dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the PM said, “When I tried to know the reasons for the lukewarm campaign of the Opposition, I learned that a leader of the INDI alliance said he would not address a rally till he is projected as the PM candidate.”
He said people ask him why he works so hard despite being assured of getting more than 400 Lok Sabha seats.
“Modi mauj karne ke liye paida nahi hua hai (I am not born to enjoy power)… I come for people’s darshan. I get energy from seeing my people… 2024 elections are important at a time when the world is talking about India… What I have done so far is just a trailer. I am yet to shift to top gear. I am still on the runway,” PM Modi said.
He said that while his government boldly acted against “anti-women” practices like triple talaq, the Congress and its allies were busy denigrating Sanatan Dharma.
Nawada goes to polls in the first phase on April 19 with three other seats — Jamui, Aurangabad and Gaya.
Targeting RJD chief Lalu Prasad, the PM lauded Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi, who is battling cancer and has excused himself from poll-related activities, for taking Bihar out of the era of “jungle raj” and on to the path of development and growth.
“In those days, our mothers and sisters were fearful of venturing out of homes,” he alleged.
Nitish also highlighted the PM’s theme of “Bihar before 2005 and Bihar under the NDA”.
“People of the new generation who are moving freely in the evening should know how tough it was to come out of homes in Bihar before 2005,” Nitish said and urged the Muslims not to vote for the Opposition. “There used to be a lot of (communal) clashes before 2005. When the NDA government came to power, there have hardly been any communal incidents,” PM Modi said, assuring the youth of giving over 10 lakh jobs before the 2025 Assembly polls.
Pointing to the fragmented Opposition, he said: “In Delhi, they share one platform. In states, some of them are fierce rivals. I talk of removing corruption and they talk of defending the corrupt.”
