Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the opposition INDIA bloc can go to any extent in pursuing its “vote bank” politics, claiming that the then Congress government during the 2014 elections had handed over 123 properties spread across prime locations in Delhi to the Waqf Board for votes.
In his first rally in the national capital for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Modi slammed the Congress-AAP alliance in Delhi as opportunistic, saying the world is watching how one corrupt party is covering for another corrupt party.
The AAP and the Congress are among the members of the INDIA bloc, formed to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.
Modi asserted that if he has any heir, it is the 140 crore Indians for whose bright future he has dedicated himself.
His every moment is for the country and his life is dedicated to realising the dreams of its citizens, the prime minister said while addressing the rally in North East Delhi in support of BJP candidates from the North East Delhi, East Delhi and Chandni Chowk parliamentary constituencies.
“The norm of society is that the head of a family thinks about it, plans for it and works towards it. I have no heir. Your are my only heirs. The 140 crore people of the country are my heirs. Therefore, I am working day and night for you. Each moment of my life is for you and the country,” Modi said.
“Your dreams are my resolve. This life is sacrificed so that your dreams are successful,” the prime minister said.
Though he made no direct reference, Modi’s remarks came amid repeated claims of Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal that he will make way for Home Minister Amit Shah after he turns 75 next year.
He has chosen Shah as his successor, Kejriwal has claimed, an assertion refuted by top BJP leaders who have said Modi will lead the party even after 2029.
Listing several signature projects, including the new Parliament building and the war memorial, Prime Minister Modi asserted that he lives and works hard for democracy.
It is Modi in whose heart democracy is alive, he said, noting that his government has built a museum dedicated to all prime ministers.
This Congress-AAP alliance seems determined to destroy Delhi, he said, adding that its leaders are responsible for fall in political standards and breaking people’s faith.
Those who arrived to root out corruption are doing the rounds of jail in scams running into thousands of crores of rupees, Modi said in a swipe at Chief Minister Kejriwal.
The Congress, he said, would not get tired of taking credit for exposing the AAP government’s scams but its Delhi leaders were forced by the Gandhi family to join hands with the city’s ruling party.
In the national capital, which sends seven members to the Lok Sabha, the AAP and the Congress, according to a seat-sharing arrangement, are contesting four and three seats, respectively.
The AAP has fielded candidates from New Delhi, East Delhi, South Delhi and West Delhi while the Congress is contesting from Chandni Chowk, Northeast Delhi and Northwest Delhi.
The prime minister said four generations of the Congress ruled Delhi but they do not have the strength to even contest four seats here.
“The Congress is not even contesting from the (New Delhi) constituency where Parliament House is and their ’10 Janpath Darbar’ is located. Still, their arrogance continues,” Modi said.
Keeping up his attack on the opposition alliance for its alleged pro-Muslim politics, Modi said the Congress had joined hands with those advocating for “vote jihad” for its vote bank during the 2014 elections.
It was agreed that they would vote for the Congress, and its government in turn handed over the country’s properties to the Waqf Board, he said.
These properties were spread across prime locations where a yard of land costs many lakhs of rupees, Modi said, claiming that the opportunist opposition alliance can incite violence for its appeasement politics.
Under the “Manmohan Singh remote-operated government, (former Congress chief) Sonia Gandhi entered into an agreement with ‘Vote Jihad’ people”, he said and claimed that 123 properties in prime locations of the national capital were given to the Waqf Board overnight.
These elections are to save the poor and middle-class from forces conspiring to snatch their assets, he said and told the gathering that not a single vote should go to the INDI Alliance (INDIA bloc).
“Their manifesto appears to be inspired by the Muslim League,” Modi said, asking people to defeat the mindset of nepotism that ruined the future of the youth, to make a strong India and defeat the forces trying to weaken the country.
The INDIA bloc has crossed all boundaries for appeasement and it wants to give tenders and formulate budgets on basis of religion, he alleged. “The ‘shehzada’ of the Congress wants to give half of your property to his vote bank,” Modi said.
Blaming the opposition for the 2020 North-East Delhi riots following the enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Modi noted that many people, mostly Dalits, who were persecuted in neighbouring countries were recently granted citizenship under the law.
The opposition alliance supports reservation on religious grounds, restoration of Article 370 and abolition of India’s nuclear bombs, he claimed.
The prime minister said the capital of India should reflect its development.
Delhi is becoming a centre of attraction in the world and, during the G-20 Summit here, visitors witnessed modern convention centres like Bharat Mandapam and Yashobhoomi, a new Parliament building, and monuments like National War Memorial and Ambedkar Memorial, he said. Modi added that Delhi is transforming into a modern metropolis.
The 2024 Lok Sabha polls are for bringing India among the top three economies of the world and to save the country from the forces that want to render India bankrupt, he said.
The prime minister said this election is to make the lives of the poor and the middle-class of the country easy and protect them from the powers that want to snatch away their property.
On his resolve to make India a developed nation by 2047, he said it is Modi’s guarantee to work 24×7 for 2047.
“A strong government is needed to make the country strong. So, I need strong companions,” Modi said and sought support for the BJP candidates from North East Delhi, East Delhi and Chandni Chowk parliamentary constituencies to become “his companions to fulfil the resolve for ‘Viksit Bharat'”.
Infrastructure development attracts investment, he said and added that he is committed to simplifying the lives of each poor and middle class family in Delhi.
Extension of piped gas supply is making life easier for women while work is underway for regularising unauthorised colonies in Delhi, Prime Minister Modi said and added that free foodgrain distribution has benefitted lakhs of people
Source Agencies
