Stay Alert about Congress, It Spreads Dangerous Thinking; Lok Sabha Phase 1 Polls Favoured NDA: PM Modi in Karnataka

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (File pic/PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that the first phase of voting in the Lok Sabha polls on April 19 favoured the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Viksit Bharat, but he trained his guns on the Congress in Karnataka and asked people to be alert, claiming that the party was creating an unsafe environment for the country’s daughters, Hindus, and the common man.

“The thinking that the Congress is propagating is very dangerous. Our daughters are being attacked, bomb blasts are taking place in public spaces, there are attacks on those who are listening to bhajan-kirtan. These are not simple incidents. That is why I appeal to the people of Bengaluru and Karnataka that you should remain alert about Congress,” he said while addressing a public meeting in Bengaluru after a whirlwind session of rallies in Maharashtra and Karnataka’s Chikkaballapur.

Continuing his attack on the Congress government, he highlighted how Bengaluru as a city has been thirsting for water and the ruling party in the state has converted it from a “tank city” into a “tanker city” and handed over the IT capital of India “into the hands of the water tanker mafia”.

“I have seen that the Congress and the INDI Alliance have been accusing Modi of false promises and hopes. But my focus is on the progress of Bharat, enhancing the global image of Bharat, because you the people are Modi’s parivar,” said the leader while attacking the Congress for misleading the public.

Outlining how he has come to the people seeking their support with his government’s report card in hand, the Prime Minister said that the BJP’s reign at the Centre has been able to uplift India from being included in the Fragile Five list of countries to one of the top five in the world.

The PM said that the opposition INDIA bloc has been carrying around a warped tape recorder about its achievements but Modi is seeking people’s votes with a “track record”.

Speaking about how Bengaluru has seen immense development under the BJP at the Centre, the PM also highlighted that only centrally funded projects were progressing in Karnataka while all other state-sponsored ventures had come to a grinding halt. He called the Congress “anti-development, anti-youth, anti-investments, anti-entrepreneurs, anti-taxpayers, and anti-wealth creators”.

“The Congress opposed Aadhaar, it opposed Jan Dhan, it criticised the Covid platform (CoWIN), mocked us when we spoke about developing a Covid vaccine,” the PM said.

The Prime Minister also hit out at the Congress party for allegedly trying to propagate a negative narrative against the BJP and Modi’s vision.

“Modi guarantees you 6G after 5G, the Congress says remove Modi. Modi guarantees you AI, the Congress says remove Modi. Modi guarantees you of putting a man in space through the Gaganyaan project after the success of Chandraayan. The Congress says remove Modi,” said the PM before a cheering crowd at Bengaluru’s Palace Grounds.

As part of his poll pitch, Modi spoke of how India will continue to progress in technology, defence, and space. Giving an example, he spoke of how India a few days ago delivered the first Brahmos missile to the Philippines and Asia’s biggest helicopter factory was built in Bengaluru, second only to the USA.

Targeting largely the migrant vote bank in Bengaluru’s apartment buildings, Modi said his government brought in the RERA law to protect the interests of apartment buyers. He also said that income tax was abolished for those who were earning less than Rs 7 lakh a year.

“In 2014, the rate of 1 GB of data was Rs 250. Now it is Rs 10 for 1 GB. Your mobile phone bill has come down from Rs 5,000 to Rs 700,” said the PM crediting his government’s performance.

Former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, who welcomed the PM in the IT capital, assured him of winning all 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

“With our alliance with the JD(S), we will win all 28 seats. The Congress government in Karnataka is running a Tughlaq Darbar,” he said.

The PM first visited Chikkaballapur, a Lok Sabha seat that is seeing a hot contest between the BJP’s Dr K Sudhakar and the Congress’s Raksha Ramaiah. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi recently visited the same constituency.

Training his guns on the INDIA bloc, PM Modi said that the opposition parties in the alliance “do not have a leader in the present or a vision for the future and have been at the centre of several scams”.

“The first phase of voting has created much enthusiasm in the country, and I can see the same enthusiasm here in Chikkaballapur. The voting in the first phase has gone in favour of NDA and Viksit Bharat,” the PM said.

Earlier, former Prime Minister and the BJP-led NDA bloc partner HD Deve Gowda criticised Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah government for having released a media campaign using a symbolic “chombu” (copper pot) to highlight that the BJP had not done anything for the people of the country.

“Under the 10 years of the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh and the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the Congress drained the country of its resources. The Coalgate, 2G spectrum scam, Railgate scam, there has been immense corruption. They gave the BJP and Modi ji an empty vessel having looted all, but he converted this very vessel into an Akshaya Patra for the poor and underprivileged. He uplifted all small and backward communities from poverty. That man who did it is Modi who is seated right next to me,” the JD(S) leader said in Chikkaballapur. “The CM and deputy CM speak about Modi in a poor light, it is bad politics. They should be ashamed of themselves. There are more than 34 programmes that have been given to the people of this country. I am 91 years old but my blood boils when I see these things.”

This is PM Modi’s second visit to Karnataka as part of the BJP’s political campaign and he promised the people of the state to dedicate every second towards their welfare.

“I have worked day and night for your benefit. I have worked 24/7 with a vision for 2047,” Modi said asking people to trust the BJP and vote for it once again.

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