Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday targeted the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress over dynastic politics, alleging that these parties were contesting elections to benefit their families and their vote banks. “SP and Congress people either do good only for their family or for their vote bank,” Mr. Modi said, addressing an election rally in Etawah supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Ram Shankar Katheria. Speaking of himself and the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Mr. Modi touched upon a bachelor’s identity to say that they did not have children and worked for “your children”.
Mr. Modi described the manifesto and slogans of both the Congress and the SP as “lies”, and said their “objective” was also not good. “These people (the SP and the Congress) are trying their level best to unfurl lies about our Constitution and democracy because Modi uncovered their appeasement vote bank politics,” the PM said.
Hinting at his humble roots, Mr. Modi said that a chaiwala created a legacy and broke the design where only heirs of royal families became Prime Ministers or Chief Ministers. “The legacy created by Modi is for everyone. I want that in 2047, your son and daughter can also become the PM or the CM. This chaiwala broke the evil tradition where only the heir apparent of royal families becomes the PM or the CM. In future, people would say that there was a Prime Minister in the country who was a chaiwala and now even a poor man’s son can become a Chief Minister or a Prime Minister,” Mr. Modi said.
The PM questioned the stand of the SP and the Congress on the matter of reservation, alleging that the Opposition parties wanted to snatch the constitutionally guaranteed reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs). “Our respected learned people who drafted the Constitution said there would be no reservation based on religion. But the Congress and the SP want to snatch the reservation of the Backward Classes, SCs, STs and give it based on religion,” Mr. Modi said. “In Karnataka, they (the Congress) looted the biggest part of the 27% reservation that OBCs had. If tomorrow, this is repeated in Uttar Pradesh, what will happen to the reservation and rights of Mauryas, Yadavs, Jatavs, Shakyas and Kushwahas?” the PM said.
Mr. Modi targeted the Congress and other Opposition parties for declining the invitation to attend the Ayodhya Ram Mandir’s consecration ceremony. “These parties (the Congress and the SP) rejected the invitation for the consecration ceremony. After 500 years, the dream of a grand Ram Mandir is fulfilled in Ayodhya. When the people of India built such a grand temple, forgiving all their (the Congress’) mistakes by inviting them for the consecration ceremony, these people insulted Lord Ram by rejecting the invitation,” Mr. Modi said.
Later in the evening, the PM reached Ayodhya, his first visit after the consecration ceremony of January 22, where he also held a roadshow, and offered prayers to the deity at the grand temple. The entrance to the temple was decorated with flowers, and replicas of a bow, an arrow and the ‘Om’ symbol were also seen at various places. After performing puja at the grand temple, the PM held a two-kilometre-long roadshow in the temple town, starting from Sugriva Fort and onward till the Lata Chowk, with people in thousands standing on both sides of the road to welcome him. At the roadshow, Mr. Modi was accompanied by Mr. Adityanath and the BJP’s candidate from Faizabad, Lallu Singh. BJP workers filled the roads of Ayodhya with life-size cut-outs of Mr. Modi and Mr. Adityanath.
Voting for the Faizabad parliamentary segment, under which the district of Ayodhya falls, will take place in the fifth phase of voting on May 20.
