Citing the examples of Himachal Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday charged that "wherever the Congress forms the government, that state becomes an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) of the party's shahi parivar" and said that the BJP would not allow the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to turn Maharashtra into the ATM of the grand old party.
Addressing an election rally at Akola in Vidarbha region of Assembly poll-bound Maharashtra, Modi accused the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government of collecting Rs 700 crore from liquor shop owners in Karnataka.
"Wherever Congress forms the government, that state becomes an ATM of the `shahi parivar" of the Congress. These days, states like Himachal Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka have become the ATMs of the royal family of Congress," the Prime Minister said.
"People are saying that these days with elections in Maharashtra, the Congress has doubled the quantum of 'vasooli' (extortion) in Karnataka and neighbouring Telangana. The BJP will not allow MVA to turn Maharashtra into the Congress' ATM for `Mahaghotalebaaj'," PM Modi said.
Singling out the grand old party for allegedly indulging in corruption in states ruled by it, the Prime Minister said that the MVA - comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) - "stands for multi-crore scams, for extortion and token money. It stands for transfer posting racket and is completely immersed in scandals, loot, and corruption."
Repeating the allegations that he had made in his election speeches on Friday that the Congress was dividing the SCs, STs and OBCs, PM Modi said: "The Congress knows the weaker the country becomes, the stronger the Congress will be .. That's why the Congress has all along been resorting to the tactics of divide and rule. Over the years, the Congress created rifts within the SC-Dalits, ST-Adivasis and OBCs"
Describing the BJP as "ek hai toh safe hain" party, Modi said: "For a safe and united Maharashtra, people should choose BJP-led Maha Yuti…ek hai toh safe hain".
A day after he dared the MVA to get Rahul Gandhi to speak in praise of Veer Savarkar, Modi invoked Dr. BR Ambedkar's legacy to tear into the Congress to prove its respect for the architect of the constitution and his contributions to the country.
"I challenge the shahi parivar of the Congress to prove if its members had ever visited Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's Panchteerth (a term he coined in 2017) the birthplace of late Ambedlkar at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh, his residence in London (Sikhsha Bhoomi), Deeksha Bhoomi in Nagpur where he embraced Buddhism, Mahaparinirvan Sthal in Delhi, and Chaitya Bhoomi in Mumbai," PM Modi said.
Accusing the Congress of insulting the late Ambedkar for years on end, the PM said: "From the time of Nehru till today, the top family of the Congress has repeatedly insulted Baba Saheb Ambedkar. It did not give Baba Saheb Ambedkar credit for any major work done by him"
Dwelling upon the achievements of the BJP government at the Centre and the MahaYuti government in the state, PM Modi said that the Centre had given a boost to industry and infrastructure for cotton cultivators by laying the foundation stone of a textile park in Amravati. The textile park will pave the way for the prosperity of cotton farmers.
Charging that the previous MVA government had stalled the irrigation projects undertaken by the previous Devendra Fadnavis-led government, the PM said: "After Mahayuti Alliance came to power in the state, the Wainganga Nalganga and Painganaga interlink projects were sanctioned. The inter-link projects will bring all 5 districts in Western Vidarbha including Nagpur and Wardha District under irrigation."
The PM said that his government accorded the classical language status to the Marathi language which had raised the prestige of Maharashtra. Referring to a slew of schemes launched by the Centre and MahaYuti government for empowering farmers in the state, Modi said: "Our effort has been to empower the farmers. If the farmer is empowered, he becomes the hero of the country's progress… We are therefore increasing the farmers' income and reducing their expenditure. The Centre introduced the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi for which the Mahayuti government gave its support. The result is that farmers of Maharashtra are getting Rs 12,000 annually."
Touching upon the Ram Mandir issue, the PM said: "I have come to seek your blessings for the BJP-led Mahayuti (grand alliance) in the Maharashtra assembly elections. You should remember the significance of November 9. It was on this day, the Supreme Court gave its ruling in favour of the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya. After the Supreme Court's verdict, the people from all the religions accepted it and showed great sensitivity in facilitating the Ram temple without any hinderance".
