Mumbai: After playing the emotional card with first-time voters in Latur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP’s star campaigner, played the caste card in Solapur. Mr Modi said he belonged to a lower caste, and was thus being criticised. He added if tribals, the downtrodden and backward classes were being called “chor”, he would not tolerate it.
Mr Modi addressed a rally at Akluj town in Solapur’s Madha constituency for party candidate Ranjit Naik Nimbalkar. Nationalist Congress Party MP and former deputy CM Vijaysinh Mohite Patil shared the stage with Mr Modi at the rally. The PM felicitated him for his 50 years in active politics. His son, Ranjitsinh Mohite Patil, a former Rajya Sabha member, joined the BJP in March.
Referring to Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s remark “Why are all thieves named Modis?”, Mr Modi said on Wednesday that the Congress president, with that jibe, had maligned the backward community Mr Modi hails from. He said: “The Congress and its allies say that all Modis in society are thieves. The Congress and its allies have not kept back from abusing my backward caste. This time they have crossed all limits, and have abused all backwards.”
The Congress president had said: “I have a question. Why do all the thieves have Modi in their names — whether be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi and Narendra Modi? We don’t know how many more such Modis will come out.”
Rebutting Mr Gandhi’s jibe, Mr Modi said, “The ‘naamdar’ (dynast) first tried ‘chowkidar chor hai’ (slogan). Now they are trying to defame a backward community (Modi community). Being from a backward community, I am used to this.”
Rebuttuing Mr Gandhi’s jibe, Mr Modi said: “The Congress has been defaming me for several years over my backward community background. I am used to such bashing. Now they are blaming the entire community while defaming me. If you dare to defame a community, I will not tolerate it.”
Attacking the “dynastic politics” of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Mr Modi said Mr Pawar had “fled” the poll arena from Madha Lok Sabha constituency as he had sensed defeat. He also said the NCP chief wondered if he had a family or not. “Pawar has the right to speak against me or my family because he is elder to me,” Mr Modi added.
He also claimed there had been no “corruption blot” on his government in the past five years.
“Confidence in the Congress and NCP is on decline as they are not talking about their idea of India. Their only agenda is to dethrone Modi. They do not have any idea of increasing the importance of the country globally,” he said. “Mumbai once had become swarg (heaven) of terrorists (referring to many terror attacks on Mumbai). Nothing used to happen in those days. Now we kill them by striking in their dens,” Mr Modi said.
In an apparent reference to some Opposition leaders seeking proof of the airstrikes in Pakistan, Mr Modi said: “Some people continue to raise doubts over the valour of our jawans. I am standing like a wall between such people and our valiant soldiers,” he said.
Responding to Mr Modi’s comments, NCP leader Ajit Pawar said on Wednesday that since there was no development issue left to talk about, Mr Modi was raising emotive issues like caste, which he said did not behove a person holding the position of Prime Minister. “Today PM Modi Saheb said he was being targeted due to his caste. Since there is no development issue left, talking in this manner to make people emotional does not behove a Prime Minister. Our state and country cannot afford this government’s dirty politics in which a divide is being created between castes and communities,” he tweeted.
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