Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday dubbed the alliance between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress a “flop film”, which had been “re-released,” even as he invoked Rama again and sought to portray his rivals as “anti-Hindu”.
Addressing an election meeting at Saharanpur, which will go to polls on April 19, Modi also attacked the Congress, saying that the party of the pre-independence era did not exist any longer. Taking potshots at the grand old party’s election manifesto, which was released on Friday, he said that it (the manifesto) had the ‘imprint’ of the Muslim League and Leftist ideology.
“Aapko yaad hoga Uttar Pradesh mein do ladkon ki jo film pichli baar flop ho chuki hai, usiko phir release kiya hai... (the film of two boys, which flopped earlier in the state, has been released again...), the Prime Minister said, referring to SP president Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Modi said the main Opposition party (SP) was forced to change its candidates many times. He also said that Congress was not getting candidates to contest the elections even on seats it considered its strongholds, apparently referring to the delay in announcing candidates for Amethi and Raebareli Lok Sabha seats.
He said that the Congress, which had fought for the independence of the country, was ‘finished’ decades ago. “The Congress of today neither has policies for the country nor any vision. It has been proved by its election manifesto, which had the imprint of the Muslim League and the Left,” he added.
The Prime Minister also referred to the Ram temple in Ayodhya and said that building a grand Ram temple had been his party’s mission and not part of the election manifesto.
Published 06 April 2024, 10:19 IST