GUWAHATI, March 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday went all guns blazing against the Opposition Congress, saying that the grand old party has “degenerated” over the decades, and is also “confused in terms of choosing its allies ahead of the Assam Assembly elections.
Addressing a massive poll rally at Bhatgram in North Karimganj on Thursday afternoon, Modi said that the Congress has “become so weak that it can go to the extent of shaking hands with anyone…be it in poll-bound Assam, West Bengal or Kerala…Congress today has “no neta (leader), no niti (policy) and no vichaar dhara (ideas).”
“Besides, Congress is in a state of confusion, as it talks against a party in one state, and embraces the very party in another state…So if a party is in a state such indecision and uncertainty, can it ensure a stable government in Assam, can it secure Assam’s future,” he said.
This was the Prime Minister’s fourth poll rally in Assam this year and the first after the Election Commission of India announced the dates for the three-phase polls on February 26.
Taking an oblique dig (without naming anyone) at the Opposition party for allying with the Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Modi said, “Congress has joined hands with a party it once fought against….so it appears that for the sake of bagging votes, Congress can mislead any one.”
Modi also referred to a video circulated on social media about a ‘goof-up’ by Congress leaders who were heard saying that the promises made in the manifesto (ghoshna patra) were just for announcement and not for implementation on the ground.
“So it means the Congress now decides among themselves before preparing a manifesto and not on the basis of people’s views and suggestions. It (Congress) probably does not know that the electorate today are informed, aware and enlightened…Congress is cut off from the ground realities,” Modi alleged.
The Prime Minister further pulled up the Congress for “neglecting Assam” and “disconnecting the state”.
“Decades of corruption had placed Assam among the most disconnected states in the country. But the BJP-led government has rectified the mistakes committed by Congress in the past tenures in Assam,” he claimed.
Reiterating the saffron party’s development push to Assam, or for that matter the entire Northeast, Modi said the BJP government has made all efforts to convert Northeast into a development hub.
“So I request the people of Assam to vote for the NDA and enable the double engine government to make the people of Assam more strong and resilient…In the last five years, we fast-tracked development and in the next five years, we will further accelerate the pace of progress,” he said.
Terming Barak Valley as the ‘Gateway to the double-engine (BJP) government”, Modi said that three decades back, Barak Valley had given NDA nine out of the 15 seats.
The Prime Minister also claimed that there was a “wave of development and trust in Assam today, while saying that infrastructure projects were being developed on a mission mode.
Referring to improved rail and gas connectivity in Barak Valley as well as the state under BJP rule, he said, “New roads, bridges, flyovers have come up in Assam under BJP government. Air, rail and water routes are being strengthened in Assam. Moreover, we have established a heart-to-heart connection with people by improving connectivity across the nook and cranny of the state,” he added.
“BJP has tried to connect Assam from all sides…sab ka saath, sab kas vishwaas, sab ka vikaas…this has been our development mantra,” he said.
The Prime Minister also pointed out the welfare schemes for the economically disadvantaged sections in Assam, particularly during the COVID-19 triggered lockdown, when free ration, gas cylinders, etc were distributed by the government.
“Be it land rights, free treatment under Ayushman Bharat and benefits to farmers under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi apart from the welfare schemes for tea garden workers in Assam, we have provided all,” he claimed, while reflecting on the BJP report card.