During an election rally in Mumbai, Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the Congress party’s manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections, calling it ‘Maoist’ and accusing it of aiming to plunder the country’s resources.
Modi alleged that the manifesto included controversial proposals such as seizing gold from temples and taxing inheritance at 50%, which he claimed would impede economic growth and push the country towards bankruptcy. He also criticized what he referred to as the Congress party’s strategy of “vote Jihad”, suggesting that it aims to manipulate voters for political gain.
VIDEO | Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Here’s what PM Modi said while addressing a public rally at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park.
“If Congress had been disassembled on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi after Independence, then the country would have been at least five decades ahead now. After you… pic.twitter.com/Y8JLudyjFV
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 17, 2024
Modi did not reserve his criticism solely for the Congress, as he also took aim at the Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray. He accused the party of betraying the mandate of the people in the 2019 Maharashtra elections, which he claimed hindered developmental projects in the state.
Modi specifically mentioned stalled initiatives like the bullet train and Mumbai metro, attributing their delay to the actions of the Shiv Sena.
Moreover, Modi accused the Shiv Sena of deviating from its founding principles and aligning itself with parties that have historically opposed its ideology. He claimed that the party betrayed its founder, Balasaheb Thackeray, by forming alliances with those who had criticized the construction of the Ram temple and had celebrated in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks.
The Prime Minister also took a swipe at the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and its leader, Sharad Pawar, without explicitly naming them. He challenged the NCP to distance itself from the Congress party’s stance on historical figures such as Veer Savarkar, whom Modi claimed were being disparaged by the opposition.
Modi accused the NCP-Congress alliance of undermining national security by questioning the validity of surgical strikes and attempting to redistribute quotas for marginalized communities.
Modi sought to rally support for his party by painting a stark contrast between his vision for the nation’s progress and what he characterized as the regressive policies of his political opponents.
#WATCH | Mumbai, Maharashtra: Addressing a public rally, PM Modi says, "Some people say that what Modi says is impossible. It is difficult to instil hope in people who are drowned in hopelessness. Everything is impossible for them. These are the same people who thought that the… pic.twitter.com/nCjbbHyN1d
— ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2024
PM Modi said, “Some people say that what Modi says is impossible. It is difficult to instil hope in people who are drowned in hopelessness. Everything is impossible for them. These are the same people who thought that the Ram Temple was impossible. The world has to accept that the people of India were so strong with their thoughts that they kept struggling for 500 years, for one dream… As a result, Ram Lalla is Virajman in a grand temple…”
PM Modi emphasized the importance of safeguarding national interests and upholding the legacy of iconic figures like Veer Savarkar, while simultaneously warning against the purported dangers of aligning with parties that prioritize political expediency over ideological consistency.
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