Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused the Samajwadi Party of going soft on the Congress, saying the two parties are playing a “big game” against Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.
Addressing BJP rallies in Pratapgarh and Basti, Modi said the SP-BSP alliance partners will be at each other’s throats when the results are out on May 23. He said while Mayawati is openly targeting the Congress and its policies, a Congress leader is sharing the stage with the SP.
The apparent reference was to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s presence at an SP meeting in Rae Bareli on Thursday.
“The SP is going soft on the Congress, but its alliance partner BSP chief Mayawati is attacking the Congress,” Modi said in Pratapgarh. He claimed the SP had derived advantage out of the alliance, talking about “respect” towards her.
“It was said you (Mayawati) will be made the prime minister, but now ‘Behenji’ has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a big game with her,” he said.
Modi said the Congress has been reduced to the status of a ‘vote katwa’ party, suggesting its only relevance now is to queer the pitch for other parties.
Accusing the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi of harping on the acquisition of Rafale aircraft only to tarnish his image, Modi took a swipe at former PM Rajiv Gandhi.
“Your father was termed ‘Mr Clean’ by his courtiers, but his life ended as ‘Bhrashtachari No 1’ (corrupt number 1),” Modi said. He claimed that the Congress chief had admitted in an interview that his only aim is to tarnish Modi’s image.
“By hurling abuses, you cannot turn the 50 long years of Modi’s tapasya (struggle) into dust,” Modi said. “By tarnishing my image and by making me look small, these people want to form an unstable and a weak Government in the country,” he said.
“The naamdaar must clearly listen that this Modi was not born with a golden spoon, nor was he born in any royal family,” he said, referring to Gandhi. Modi claimed that the Congress is known for dividing the country, and charged it with bringing down coalition Governments in the past.
Referring to the UN listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, he said it was a “major victory in India’s fight against terror”. He attacked the Congress over its own record in tackling terrorism. “These people had created the hype of Hindu terrorism. Today, the terrorists and their masters are praying that Modi should not come to power, but the country is saying ‘Phir ek baar, Modi sarkaar’,” he said.
