It is because of the Constitution made by Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar that the son of a poor is able to seek a third term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at an election rally in Madhya Pradesh on Ambedkar Jayanti.
“Parties like Congress always insulted Baba Saheb Ambedkar. But it is because of the Constitution he made that Modi, son of a poor mother, is seeking your blessings for a third term,” Mr. Modi said as he addressed the crowd at Pipariya in Hoshangabad Lok Sabha constituency on Sunday.
Referring to President Draupadi Murmu, Mr. Modi said the elevation of a tribal woman to become the first citizen of the country was also made possible due to the architect of the Indian Constitution, Dr. Ambedkar.
Mr. Modi also took a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his claims of eradicating poverty in a single stroke.
“Congress is making promises that its own leaders do not understand. Recently, the shehzada [scion] made an announcement that ‘I will remove poverty in a single stroke’. Where was this royal magician hiding until now? His grandmother [referring to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi] had made the same announcement 50 years ago,” Mr. Modi said, claiming that Mr. Gandhi’s statement was a “mockery and insult” of the poor.
At a poll rally recently in Rajasthan, Mr. Gandhi had referred to his party’s poll promise of giving ₹1 lakh per year to each household below the poverty line and said, “₹1 lakh khatakhat khatakhat aata rahega aur ek jhatke se hum Hindustan se gareebi ko mita denge [₹1 lakh will keep coming and we will eradicate poverty from India in one stroke].”
‘Dangerous promises’
Mr. Modi also took on the INDIA coalition partners alleging varied promises in their manifestos and said some parties were making “very dangerous promises”.
“One of their allies has said in its manifesto that ‘we will eliminate the nuclear weapons from India’. Can anyone think like this?,” the Prime Minister asked, without naming but referring to the manifesto of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) that has promised “complete elimination of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction”.
“Is it [nuclear weapons] not necessary for the nation’s protection when enemy nations have so much power,” he said.
The Prime Minister also said that the Congress, “out of jealousy, is threatening” the people that if he gets a third term the country would burn.
“They said the same thing in 2014 and 2019. They also said that the country will burn at the time of Ram Mandir [consecration]. Did the country burn?,” he asked, claiming that if the Congress’ “jealousy” continued, the nation would never give it a chance again.
With the rally in Hoshangabad that goes to poll in phase two on April 26, the Prime Minister also targeted nearby constituencies such as Chhindwara that will vote in the first phase on April 19, as he asked people to ensure victories for both candidates — Darshan Singh Choudhary from Hoshangabad and Vivek ‘Bunty’ Sahu from Chhindwara.
Pipariya, where the rally was held, is less than 40 km from the border of Chhindwara Lok Sabha constituency and as per BJP leaders, party workers and supporters were called in large numbers from there.
Chhindwara, the bastion of Congress veteran Kamal Nath and the only Lok Sabha seat the Congress won in the State in the 2019 polls, is expected to witness a close contest between Mr. Sahu and Mr. Nath’s son Nakul Nath, who is also the incumbent MP from there.
