I.N.D.I.A. a congregation of scamsters, says Modi

New Delhi, Patna, Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the Opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc a “congregation of scamsters, that is communal, casteist and dynastic to the core”.

The Prime Minister on Tuesday held two back-to-back election rallies in Bihar’s and continued his stinging attack on the Opposition later in the day in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj and Varanasi. Modi accused the Congress and the Samajwadi Party of doing appeasement politics and being “anti-development”.

Addressing election rallies in Bihar, Modi predicted a big blow for the Opposition alliance on June 4, when Lok Sabha poll results will be out. The Prime Minister, who is seeking a third consecutive term in office, said that he considers the people of the country as his only “waaris” (successors). “Modi has no personal ‘virasat’ (legacy). For me, you are my successor. I don’t have any other successors. So, I have to work very hard to ensure a bright future for you and your children,” he said.

Launching a tirade against the Congress over reservations, the Prime Minister said had it not been for Baba Saheb Ambedkar, former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru would have never agreed to quotas for SCs, STs and OBCs. “Nehru had made his views clear on the issue in letters he wrote to the then chief ministers in the country”, claimed Modi.

“This has been the Congress’ trait under successive prime ministers. Be it, Indira Gandhi or Rajiv Gandhi, they all opposed reservations. SCs, STs and OBCs have never got respect from the Congress”, he added.

Modi made the allegation while lashing out at the opposition for spreading a “falsehood” that the BJP, upon return to power with a brute majority, could scrap quotas by changing the Constitution.

The Prime Minister also launched indirect attacks on leaders like former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, whom he said were “born with silver spoons”. “The nation cannot move forward with the sins of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, which stands for corruption, appeasement politics, represents the ‘tukde-tukde’ gang and a perverted mindset that heaps scorn on Sanatana Dharma,” he said.

Referring to Tejashwi Yadav, whom he did not mention by name, he said, “I am told that the ‘waaris of jungle raaj’ has been saying I will be advised bed rest after the Lok Sabha elections. The ‘shehzada’ of the Congress says he wants to see me in tears. His party openly chants slogans like ‘Modi teri kabr khudegi’ (your grave will be dug)…” while adding, “These people have a counterpart in Uttar Pradesh (an allusion to Yadav) who says I have reached the end of my life and hence contesting from Varanasi.” The remarks showed a lack of sensitivity on the part of those “born with silver spoons, who have never known what a life filled with struggles,” he added.

Later, addressing a rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, Modi said that the Opposition Congress and the Samajwadi Party have been competing over the appeasement of their vote bank. He called both parties anti-development. “The SP and the Congress are more concerned about their vote bank than Kumbh (mela)...This election will decide the direction in which the Triveni of India’s future will flow,” Modi said.

Addressing a women’s conference in his Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency late on Tuesday evening, Modi said that women were neglected during the Congress and the Samajwadi Party rule. “The I.N.D.I.A. bloc’s mentality has always been anti-women. Wherever their government comes to power, it becomes difficult for women to live. The people of Banaras are familiar with the jungle raj in UP and Bihar. It was difficult for our sisters and daughters to step out of the house. Daughters had to leave their studies and stay at home due to safety concerns,” he said.