Seeking to drive a wedge among the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents over their ideological differences, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday dared the MVA leaders to get Congress leader Rahul Gandhi speak in praise of the contributions made to the country by Veer Savarkar and Balasaheb Thackeray.
Kick-starting his campaign for the State Assembly polls from north Maharashtra where he addressed election rallies at Nashik and Dhuke, PM Modi played the "Maharashtra self-respect and pride card", when he slammed the Congress leaders for denigrating Savarkar and the Shiv Sena (UBT) — which considered Savarkar as its icon — for allying with the grand-old party.
Taking pot shots at both the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), the PM said: "In Maharashtra, Savarkar is a source of inspiration… They [Congress leaders] never allowed Marathi language to get the classical language status. But they abuse Savarkar regularly.
In view of the elections, a senior MVA leader asked the Congress 'yuvraj' to stop disrespecting Savarkar. Ironically, those who consider Savarkar as an icon are with the Congress".
In an unmistakable reference to Sena Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, PM Modi said, "I want to challenge the MVA leaders to make the Congress' yuvraj speak for 15 minutes in praise of Savarkar and his sacrifices for the country. Similarly, the yuvraj should also be asked to speak in praise of late Balasaheb Thackeray. Today is November 8... and I will wait for their response".
PM Modi's dare to the Shiv Sena (UBT) should be seen in context of the manner in which Rahul Gandhi's criticism of late Savarkar during his initial phase of his "Bharat Jodo Yatra". It may be recalled that on November 18, 2022, the then united Shiv Sena's MP Sanjay Raut had said that Rahul Gandhi's remarks on Veer Savarkar were "unwarranted" and that his party did not agree with the latter's stand. However, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh clarified the matter saying that Rahul did not target Savarkar but had only stated a "historical fact". On his part, Rahul himself refrained from talking about the Hindutva ideologue.
Terming the Congress as a Modi as a "parjivi" which was dependent on other parties to survive, the Prime Minister said that the grand old party wanted to weaken and divide the OBCs, because as a united community would ensure that it would not return to power again.
"The Congress is no longer an All-India party… It is parjivi (parasite) which is alive on crutches… In most of the states, the Congress can fight elections only with the help of other parties, and therefore to save itself, it has resorted to weakening the unity of the SC, ST and OBC in the country. Be it Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar or Jharkhand and in most states, Congress is in a position to contest elections only with the support of other parties," PM Modi said.
"The Congress is unable to digest that Narendra Modi, who is from the OBC, has become the Prime Minister for the third time after 60 years… The Congress can't come to terms with this truth. The truth is that Congress hates OBCs. The Congress has lost its sleep. Its leaders are venting their anger on the OBCs," the PM said.
Heaping praise on the BJP-led MahaYuti government in Maharashtra, the PM said: "under the Mahayuti government , Maharashtra is setting new records of development. We are a government which works for the poor..When the poor people prosper, the country also prospers. During the last 10 years, the Modi government at the Centre has brought 25 crore people above the poverty line… 50 lakh women have benefited because of the Ujjwala scheme and free LPG More than a crore households have got tap water. As many as 7 crore people would be given free ration every month. Similarly poor people have benefitted due to the PM Awaas yojana"
The PM exhorted the people to bring MahaYuti to power as it would provide a "double engine government" which would ensure speedy development and people-friendly schemes. "If the MahaYuti is voted back to power, the benefit to farmers under the Krishi Samman Yojana for farmers will increase from Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000," he said.
Ridiculing the promises made by the rival MVA, the PM said: "The people of Maharashtra know the reality. On one side there is the manifesto of MahaYuti, while on the other side there is the 'scam letter' of MVA. Wherever Congress and its allies are in power, there will be scams. These people announce such schemes in which maximum corruption can take place."
Alleging that the Congress had opened a "'jhoot ki dukan' (shop of falsehood)" in Maharashtra on the lines of Karnataka and Telangana, Modi said that the people have seen in the other two states, where the Congress had failed to fulfil its promises after the polls.
Averring that in the Congress-ruled states, the governments have no money even to pay the salaries of their employees, the PM said that if the Congress and its allies were voted to power, they would put brakes on the state's growth. He said that the MVA would scrap welfare and development schemes brought out by the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government in the state.
"Be aware of the Congress and its allies which are against development and bent on putting brakes on the state's growth," said the PM.
"I appeal to you to vote for the Mahayuti so that it will take the progress of Maharashtra to new heights in the next five years. Only the Mahayuti government can provide the good governance that Maharashtra needs. On the other hand, the Maha Vikas Aghadi vehicle has neither wheels nor brakes and there is a fight even for sitting on the driver's seat. The Mahayuti government, which has taken several decisions to speed up development, will continue to boost the state's growth and also promote the development of various sections," he said.
Slamming the Congress for its pro-Pakistan agenda, the Prime Minister ruled out the possibility of restoration of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. "No force in the world can restore Article 370…let me assure only Babasaheb's Constitution would be followed everywhere in India," PM Modi said addressing a rally in Dhule district.
