PM Modi Slams Congress as 'Loot ki Dukaan' and 'Jhooth ka Bazaar' in Rajasthan Rally

New Delhi: Sounding the poll bulge in desert state Rajasthan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused the Congress of indulging in corruption and deceit. Dubbing the party "loot ki dukaan" and "jhooth ka bazaar", the Prime Minister said that it is clear that the Congress-led government in Rajasthan is on its way out.

Addressing a rally in Bikaner, the Prime Minister alleged the Ashok Gehlot government in the state has carved a new identity for itself when it comes to corruption, crime and the politics of appeasement. "In terms of crime against women, Rajasthan tops the list in rape cases. The situation is such that the protectors are becoming predators. The whole government here seems to be busy saving rape and murder accused," Mr Modi alleged.

He stated that the Congress government has done a lot of damage to Rajasthan during the last four years of its rule and that its defeat in the state "is so certain that its government has already entered a 'bye-bye mode'".

Coming down heavily on the Congress, Mr Modi said that if it remains in power, it makes the country hollow and when it goes out of power, it defames the country by abusing it.

"Their leaders go abroad and abuse India. The only meaning of the Congress is loot ki dukaan and jhooth ka bazaar," the Prime Minister said in an obvious jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's frequent claims about his party opening "mohabbat ki dukaan" in "nafarat ka bazaar".

The Prime Minister claimed that public anger against the Rajasthan government has risen, and when this happens, it takes no time to unseat those in power.

The Prime Minister said that Rajasthan, the country's desert state where elections are due later this year, should have been at the top in the implementation of the piped water project, the Jal Jeevan Mission, but today it is among the laggard states.

He also accused the state government of misleading people by announcing schemes and making promises as the election approaches.

"In all these tall promises, there is nothing but 'loot ke irade anr jhooth ka pitara' (intention of loot and bundle of lies)," Mr Modi said, adding the farmers of Rajasthan are the biggest victims of the Congress' politics of lie and deceit.

"There is an old saying that says the lamp flickers the brightest when it is about to extinguish. The Congress is also doing the same as it fears its defeat. It has come down to misleading the people of Rajasthan," Mr Modi said.

On Saturday, the Prime Minister dedicated and laid the foundation stones of development projects worth more than ₹24,300 crores in Rajasthan's Bikaner district.

Mr Modi dedicated to the people a six-lane greenfield expressway section of the Amritsar-Jamnagar economic corridor, the first phase of the inter-state transmission line for the green energy corridor, a Bikaner-to-Bhiwadi transmission line and a 30-bed employees' state insurance corporation (ESIC) hospital.

The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of the Bikaner railway station and the doubling of the 43-km-long Churu-Ratangarh section. The prime minister pressed a remote button to inaugurate the projects at a programme in Norangdesar, Bikaner.