Nawada (Bihar): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge for questioning the “relevance” of Jammu and Kashmir at a Rajasthan rally. He said Kharge’s remarks reflected the mindset of those people who wanted to “divide the country”.
At a rally in Rajasthan, Kharge referred to PM Modi’s recent speech and mentioned the scrapping of Article 370, which he called ‘Article 371’ in a slip of the tongue, and said it was not Rajasthan’s issue but of Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing a rally in Bihar’s Nawada on Sunday, PM Modi said he felt “ashamed” listening to what Kharge said.
“Modi gave a guarantee to scrap Article 370 in Kashmir. What was the result? We did it. They (INDIA bloc) talk about (saving) Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution, but you did not implement it in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
“You sang in the tunes about the Constitution. But, this Modi took Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir after so many years,” he added.
Quoting what Kharge said about Jammu and Kashmir and Article 370 in his speech, the Prime Minister said young people from Bihar and Rajasthan went to Jammu and Kashmir to protect it and gave their “supreme sacrifice”.
“I felt ashamed listening to it. The Congress should listen to me. The youths of Rajasthan and Bihar gave their supreme sacrifice while protecting Jammu and Kashmir. And you are saying ‘Kashmir se kya lena dena’ (what is the relevance of Kashmir). This reflects the mindset of the ‘tukde-tukde gang’,” he said.
“Should we apologise to these people for using such language? Should we entertain disrespect of those who sacrificed their lives?” PM Modi further said.
Continuing his tirade against the Congress, PM Modi charged that the party’s released manifesto smacked of “politics of appeasement” and read as if it was brought out by the Muslim League. He made similar remarks at a rally in Rajasthan’s Ajmer on Saturday.
“The Congress recently came out with a manifesto that appears as if it was the manifesto of the League. It smacks of appeasement,” he said.
The Prime Minister also alleged that “those leaders of the INDIA bloc who turned up at the temple consecration faced expulsions in their parties”. “These parties speak against Sanatana Dharma and advocate making South India a separate country,” he alleged.
“I wonder why the INDIA bloc is so hostile towards popular sentiments. They did not turn up for the ‘pran pratishtha’ in Ayodhya even though the Ram Temple was constructed through public donations, and not with government money. Ram Navami is approaching. Do not forget their sins,” PM Modi said.
PM Modi asserted that the Opposition sought a “ban” on ‘Modi ki guarantees’ as they were “scared” of him.
“The opposition parties are so scared of Modi ki guarantee that they want me to be banned from making such promises to the people… Modi is not someone who will rest on his laurels. He is born to work hard,” he said.

  Election, Kashmir 370

Agencies