"The Congress party hates Gujaratis and will destroy Gujarat first if it comes to power in 2019," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while addressing a public meeting in Himmatnagar, Sabarkantha district (Gujarat) on Wednesday. He urged citizens to vote for him again so that he has the opportunity to accelerate the economic growth of the country.
It was the Prime Minister's second visit to the state after poll dates were announced. Taking the community route, he brought out instances of how the imminent Gujaratis have been wronged by the Opposition Congress.
"Congress was unjust to Sardar Patel, then it was Morarji Desai's turn," he told the audience. "The party could not digest that a Gujarati became the prime minister and conspired to dethrone him in two years. Now, this Gujarati, this chaiwala, has become Prime Minister and the family is agitated. In the first five years, I have brought them closer to jail, in the next five years, they will be in it. For that, I need your blessings."
He pointed out how BJP president Amit Shah and police officers from Gujarat were jailed by the UPA government. "You tell me, should these forces come back to power?" he asked.
The Congress manifesto also came under fire for proposing amendments to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and Sedition Act. He called it an attempt to strengthen the powers of divisive forces and hurt the morale of the armed forces.
"There is a race for the prime minister's seat," he said, taking pot shots at the opposition's 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance). "Now there are voices from Andhra Pradesh, Bengal and UP for becoming PM. Don't you think a person familiar to you is the (right) prime minister?
He drew attention to schemes implemented by his government for public benefits, such as the Sujalam Sufalam Yojana that irrigated arid farmland in north Gujarat; and partnership with Israeli companies to benefit the agriculture sector.
He also claimed that unlike the Congress government, there has been no law and order problem under his rule. "There were frequent riots, the security of women and young girls was a big problem," he said. During Congress rule, there were frequent bomb blasts. All these have stopped since BJP has come to power."
