In this mofussil town in eastern Uttar Pradesh, which is known as “Gateway to Hell”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday cited the teachings and couplets of Sant Kabir to attack Opposition parties for their greed to grab power and blamed them for creating instability in the country.
In the rally that could be seen as the launch of his 2019 lok Sabha campaign, Modi tried to woo Dalits and the backwards, saying his Government was forging ahead on the teachings of Saint Kabir.
Saying that Kabir fought to break the caste barriers, Modi asked BJP workers to reach out to every person irrespective of caste and creed projecting party’s image of a ‘nationalist Hindutva’ party.
After paying tribute to Kabir and laying the foundation of the Kabir Academy in Maghar, the PM said, “Those who opposed Emergency are trying to form alliances with the Congress. It showed their lust for power and lack of principles.”
Taking a dig at those parties, who are promoting casteism and chaos, Modi said, “Some political parties do not want peace and harmony in society. Such people are cut off from ground realities.
They want chaos and want to create doubt and fear in the minds of people. They think that by doing so, they will gain politically. But those parties are completely cut-off from the reality on the ground,” he said.
Hitting out at the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the PM said that instead of understanding Kabir and following his message of love and care, some leaders were keen to retain their bungalows.
“Those, who talk of Samajwad and Bahujan, are only concerned about how to wrest power. They will lie and even harm people just to come to power,” he said.
Modi even blamed Opposition parties for opposing triple talaq law. “You know who are trying to block our efforts to ban Triple Talaq. We have done a lot for the poor. But there are forces who are throwing spanner in our work. These people do not want to see society prosper,” he said.
Modi also quoted Kabir couplet -- ‘Kabir khada bazaar mein, maang raha sabki khair, na kahe sae dosti, na keh sake bair, saying this can be interpreted as BJP’s philosophy of “sabka saath, sabka vikaas”.
Modi said late former President APJ Abdul Kalam also visited Maghar 15 years back and expressed his concern about neglect of its development.” But now we have made a commitment to develop it as a symbol of humanity,” he said.
The PM also recounted achievement of his Government, citing Ujjawala scheme, Aayushman Bharat Scheme, Jan Dhan yojana and constructing toilets for the poor. He also recited the Kabir’s couplet”Kaal kare, so aaj kar”, saying what this Government has done in four years no one had done in 40 years.
Union Tourism and Culture Minister Dr Mahesh Sharma said that India would showcase the rich culture of humanity of Sant Kabir and would develop the area to bring it in the international tourism map.
Earlier, the PM visited the Sant Kabir cave and unveiled a plaque to mark the laying of foundation stone of the Kabir Academy. The Prime Minister also offered a ‘chadar’ at the Samadhisthal and then at the ‘mazaar’ of Kabir.
“This Academy will have all facilities like library and classes to accommodate all studies on Kabir,” the PM said.