NEW DELHI (Agency): The Congress is working to placate anti-India forces, who only the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can keep at bay, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during an address in Goa on Saturday, even as he stepped up his attack on the Opposition during a rally in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, saying the INDIA grouping is working on a “one year, one prime minister” formula if it comes to power after the ongoing general elections.
“They want to give reservations based on religion. They want to take the SC/ST/OBC reservations and want to give it to their vote bank. In Karnataka they have started this. BJP does such work that the country is happy, each citizen is happy and you are happy. Congress is working in such a way that the anti-India forces are happy. You have to defeat every anti-India force,” the Prime Minister said.
Addressing a rally at Sancoale, in south Goa outside the port town of Vasco da Gama, the Prime Minister alleged that the opposition party was plotting a “conspiracy to change the Constitution”, referring to south Goa Congress candidate Viriato Fernandes’ remarks that the Constitution was “forced” on the state.
“The Congress and their allies are spreading all kinds of negativity across the country. The Congress is insulting our country’s Constitution for the sake of vote-bank politics. The Goa Congress candidate made a big revelation in this regard. He revealed the Congress’s hidden agenda — (by saying) that, for him, the Constitution was imposed on him,” said the Prime Minister.
Fernandes has, in turn, accused the Prime Minister and the local BJP leadership of twisting his statements, even as he has challenged Modi to speak about his party’s failed promises for Goa.
“He twisted and turned certain portions of my speech and misinterpreted them. He needs to speak about defections — eight Congress MLAs went from Congress to the BJP that was murder of the Constitution. Let the PM not teach us about the Constitution. What about the claim by one of his tallest leaders and a minister in Delhi (Ananthkumar) Hegde, who recently mentioned that if they get a 400+ majority they will amend the Constitution?” Fernandes charged.
Earlier in the day, during his address in Kolhapur, Modi said the Opposition’s Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) grouping would not reach the three-figure mark on June 4, when the votes of India’s seven-phase general elections will be counted. “It will not be at the doorstep of forming a government, but has plans to have one prime minister every year if they get a chance.”
“In Karnataka, Congress has planned to rotate the chief minister’s post by handing it to the deputy chief minister after 2.5 years,” he said.
Kolhapur, he said, is known as a football hub. “With the second phase of polling completed, I will say the NDA is leading 2-0 while the Congress alliance engaged in anti-India policies and politics of hate has scored two self-goals,” he added.
“I am sure voters will score such a ‘goal’ in the third phase that the INDI alliance will be vanquished,” Modi said.
Modi leant on football during the Goa rally as well. “Goa is a land that loves football. I’m giving a guarantee to sports lovers that if the country hosts the Olympics then we will definitely make your dream come true,” the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister recalled how he specifically ensured that Goa got vaccinations first during the Covid crisis.
“When it came to giving vaccines, the Union government said Goa should get vaccines first… I thought that if Goa is 100% vaccinated, and then tourists will feel safe to come here… Modi didn’t calculate who has how many seats. Nobody sitting in Delhi has thought about Goa so closely despite it having only two seats,” he said.
He also promised that if India is selected to host the Olympic Games, then sports lovers in Goa will see their dream come true.
He also made promises to the fisheries sector, and the poor that he would build houses, free medicine for senior citizens, etc. among his guarantees.
The Prime Minister recalled his speech about 100% saturation of union government schemes in Goa which he said was “true secularism”.
“It was in Goa for the first time I spoke about the saturation approach in Goa. All government schemes should reach all beneficiaries without any discrimination. Goa is a good example of the saturation approach. Under (Goa chief minister) Pramod Sawant, the toilets, electricity, running water has reached 100% saturation,” he added.
“This is true secularism, true social justice,” he said.
“In the last 10 years, so many things have happened. What has happened over the last ten years is only a trailer. I have much more to do. I have to take it very forward,” he added.
(Courtesy: HT News)
