Modi sounds poll bugle in Sonia turf

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday blasted the Congress in Raebareli and Prayagraj, the Lok Sabha constituency of Sonia Gandhi and the home town of Jawahar Lal Nehru respectively, terming the party "anti-forces" and "anti-judiciary" and asked people to "be on the alert".

Modi not only targeted the UPA chairperson and Congress president Rahul Gandhi but also referred to the 39th amendment to the Constitutionm, which was drafted by Indira Gandhi following the Allahabad High Court's decision to disqualify the then prime minister Indira Gandhi from the Lok Sabha.

He said she had "destroyed" Constitution by trying to "subvert" the judiciary.

Addressing public meetings at Raebareli and Prayagraj, Modi said the Congress did not want the country to be strong and sided with elements which were against the country.

He also questioned Sonia and Rahul's loyalty to the country saying the people in Pakistan clapped when Congress leaders delivered speeches in the country.

On the front foot after the Supreme Court verdict in the Rafale deal, the prime minister accused Rahul of "lying" to the country and said that the Congress' opposition to the fighter jet deal stemmed from the fact that for the first time there was no "Quatrochhi Mama" or "Christian Michel chacha" in defence deals.

Modi cited a couplet from the Hindu epic 'Ram Charit Manas' to target Rahul and said some people made "lying" their "principle".

"To such people, the defence ministry, defence minister, French government and even the Supreme Court are all lying," he said, apparently referring to the Rafale deal.

He said the Indian Air Force (IAF) had underlined the requirement of a modern fighter jet after the Kargil War but the Congress government did nothing in its ten-year regime. "Was there some pressure," he asked.

The prime minister referred to the Bofors scam saying the Congress was perturbed as the defence deals in the NDA regime were "transparent". "Congress rushed its lawyers to help Christen Michel," he said.

Modi also slammed the Congress for what "threatening" the judiciary when its verdicts did not favour the party.

"Congress has always been averse to the judiciary... When it is in power, it tries to linger things... When it is in the Opposition, it threatens," the prime minister said.

"A Congress leader had once asked a judge if he did not want his wife to observe Karva Chauth (a fast by wives for their husbands). Is that not a threat?" he said.

Modi referred to the Kesavanand Bharti case and said that the then Congress government had made a junior judge the Chief Justice of India.

"One of its leaders had then said that we would make that person CJI who follows our ideology," the prime minister said.

"There is a need to alert the youth about such a party," he said.

Earlier, Modi dedicated and inaugurated projects worth several hundred crores in Raebareli and Prayagraj. He also performed 'Ganga Pujan' on the bank of 'sangam' launching the 'Ardh Kumbh'.