Modi makes mince meat of Cong, JD(S) at J’khand rally

Buoyed by the success in the bypolls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched a blistering attack on the Congress and dwelt at length on how the grand old party had ‘cheated’ the BJP in the southern state.

“We got a mandate in Karnataka to govern. But the Congress and the JD(S) ganged up to thwart our attempt to form a stable government. Today, the bypoll results have shown that in an electoral democracy, it’s the electorate which is supreme. The voters in Jharkhand too should teach Congress and its allies, JMM and RJD, a similar lesson,” said Modi, in his characteristic attack on his opponents. The prime minister was addressing an election rally at Barhi near Hazaribagh.

“People say the BJP is weak in south. But the bypoll result in Karnataka has proved that those who want to enter the corridors of power through backdoor will be shown the door,” Modi said in an apparent dig at Congress. “In Jharkhand too, before 2014, the state never had a stable government. If you want stability at the Centre and the state, ensure each and every candidate of Congress and its allies are defeated,” Modi said.

In Bokaro, Modi again spoke of Karnataka. “The voters of Karnataka have sent three important messages: First, a stable government is the need of the hour. Second, those who try to hijack the mandate will be eventually punished by the voters. Third, only a BJP-led government in the state as well as Centre can usher in development,” said the PM.

Rahul’s dig

The former Congress president Rahul Gandhi too addressed two rallies – one at Barkagaon near Hazaribagh and the other at Ranchi - for his party nominees.

“You must have seen Modi hugging industrialists. But you will never see the PM hugging farmers. Because he is not worried about farmers at all. He is just interested in usurping farmers’ land and hand it over to his industrialist friends. We are not so. Just like we implemented Land Acquisition Act in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, we will do so in Jharkhand too. Without the consent of the Panchayat, no one can forcibly take over your land,” Rahul said.

The Congress leader also took a dig at PM and reminded the gathering how hollow was his slogan of giving employment to two crore people every year. “The disinvestment process in profit-making units like BPCL and HPCL is on. In the pipeline are BSNL, HAL and Air India. In Jharkhand, numerous industries have shut down, thereby giving rise to job loss and unemployment. But the Modi government is busy spreading canards, falsehood and hatred in the society,” said Rahul.

The campaign for the third phase of election in Jharkhand ends on Tuesday.