Hailing the 10 years of ‘strong’ government at the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a rally in Rishikesh on April 11, said ‘mazboot Modi sarkar me atankwaadiyon ko ghar mein ghus ke mara jata hai’ (‘the strong government under Modi kills terrorists in their homes’).
He also launched a scathing attack on the Opposition by saying that terrorism had flourished in India due to weak and unstable government in the past. And that the Congress had created hurdles in the Ram Temple construction and termed ‘sacred’ Har Ki Pauri (Haridwar), a canal.
Lok Sabha election updates | As it happened on April 11, 2024
Mr. Modi played ‘damroo’ — a musical instrument associated with Hindu deity Shiva — from the stage before starting his speech. He hailed Uttarakhand as ‘Devbhoomi’ (land of gods) which also had the chain of Char Dham temples — Badrinath-Kedarnath-Gangotri-Yamunotri.
“....Modi government kills terrorists by entering their homes. It is due to the stable and strong government, India’s Tricolor becomes a guarantee of security even in the war zone,” said the Prime Minister as the crowd greeted him with rounds of applauds and chants of ‘Har Har Mahadev’.
He stopped as slogans of his name reverberated in the air and requested people to be patient and let him speak.
Article 370
‘Aapki Agya Ho to Mai Bolu,” (‘I request you all to please let me speak’) said Mr. Modi who added that it was only the BJP government at the Centre which had the courage to abolish Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir and make a law against triple talaq, after seven decades. The BJP government worked to provide reservation to the women power of the country in the Lok Sabha and Assemblies and also to give 10% reservation to the poor of the general category.
Uttarakhand, also known as ‘Veerbhoomi’ (‘land of soldiers’) is native place of the late Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Bipin Rawat, second CDS, General Anil Chauhan, Major Gen B.C. Khanduri among others.
Sharing the schemes brought by his government for soldiers, the Prime Minister said that if the Congress had been in power, One Rank One Pension (OROP) would never get implemented, but the Modi government fulfilled this guarantee.
“During the Congress rule, soldiers did not even have bulletproof jackets, but the BJP government has worked to protect the soldiers by providing Indian-made bulletproof jackets. Today India is making modern rifles, fighter planes and aircraft carriers on its own. The weak Congress government could not provide modern infrastructure to the borders, but today under the BJP government, modern roads and tunnels are being built till the border areas of the country,” Mr. Modi added.
Counting the achievements of Uttarakhand in tourism, religion and hospitality sectors, the Prime Minister said that the coming decade belongs to this State. He said that under the BJP government, lives of women of the hills had become easier, who otherwise used to spend their days in searching woods for cooking and water for drinking.
Attacking the Congress for creating obstacles, including legal ones, in the construction of the Ram Temple, Mr. Modi said Ram devotees forgave all the mistakes of the party and sent them invitation for the consecration of Lord Ram temple, but they had boycotted that event too.
“The Congress has publicly declared with a pledge that it will destroy the power of Hindu religion. Congress wants to destroy the power of Shakti Swarupa Maa Dhari Devi, Maa Chandrabadri, Maa Jwalpa Devi.....Congress says that our sacred Har Ki Pauri of Haridwar is not river Ganga but a canal. Congress is now also raising questions on the existence of Mother Ganga. Now the people of Uttarakhand will teach them a lesson,” he added.
Government order
To mention, former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Harish Rawat has issued a government order which had stated that Har-ki-Pauri — a ghat in Haridwar where pilgrims take a holy dip — is situated on the banks of an “escape channel” of the Ganga canal and not on the banks of the Ganga.
In the second half of the day, Mr. Modi addressed a public rally in Karauli–Dholpur (Rajasthan) where he said it was shameful for the Congress when it asked that why he talked about Kashmir from Rajasthan.
“If the Congress wants to know the relation of Rajasthan with Kashmir, then it should go to the houses of the martyred heroes of Rajasthan and ask their families. Many heroes of Rajasthan have sacrificed their lives on the soil of Kashmir, and they ask what relation Rajasthan has with Kashmir,” the Prime Minister said.
He also mentioned how the Congress separated the Katchatheevu island from India and gave it to Sri Lanka.
“Just yesterday a Congress leader asked that no one lives in Katchatheevu, with this thought these Congressmen will one day give the entire desert to some country. For the Congress, the empty part of the country is just a piece of land,” added Mr. Modi.
He also accused the Congress of demolishing temples for religious appeasement in Rajasthan.
