Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a blistering attack on Congress party and its president Rahul Gandhi, reminding him about a remark by its Saharanpur candidate Imran Masood in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. In 2014, Masood was caught on camera threatening to “chop Modi into pieces”.
“Here (in Saharanpur), there is one individual who threatens to cut [me] into pieces. He is the favourite of the shahzada of Congress… he (Rahul) loves him (Imran) a lot,” he told a massive crowd in Saharanpur of western Uttar Pradesh.
“Remember, they are the ones who threaten “boti-boti” and we are here to ensure safety and honour of ‘beti-beti’ (every daughter),” Modi said, adding that his government at the Centre and the BJP government in the state has struck down hard against crime and provided a safe and secure environment for women.
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“Separate toilets in schools, izzat ghar in their home, this is the honour of beti. Free gas connection, pakka ghar for women, this is the honour of beti. In UP, nearly 90 lakh daughters have been given Mudra loans, 17 lakh bank accounts have been opened under Sukanya Yojana, this is the honour of beti. Also provision of capital punishment in the law is a step taken by my government for the honour of beti,” he added.
Imran had contested the 2014 general elections from Saharanpur on a Congress ticket but lost to BJP’s Raghav Lakhanpal by nearly 65,000 votes. Imran was even jailed for his hate speech.
Later, Imran was seen sharing stage with Rahul during an election rally, rising many eyebrows. Rahul, then vice-president of Congress, had, however, disapproved of Imran’s speech publicly saying “this is not the Congress way”.
The Congress has once again fielded Imran from Saharanpur. He is contesting against Lakhanpal who is seeking re-election on a BJP ticket.
Modi also lashed out at the opposition parties saying their only agenda is to remove him and promote dynastic politics. Terming Congress’ manifesto a ‘dhakosla patra’, Modi said, “The promises made by the Congress in its dhakosla patra mean that those who misbehave with daughters will not go to jail instead they will get bail.”
Modi said that his government honoured Muslim sisters by Hajj without a Mahram, adding that the triple talaq is another attempt to honour a safe life for them.
“I want to clearly tell my Muslim daughters that during Congress, SP and BSP governments Muslim women being tortured. They will never give nod to triple talaq law and work to make sure that the ordinance brought by our government doesn’t sail through (Parliament),” he said.
Saharanpur is one of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. It falls in the western part of the state where Muslims play a key role in deciding the outcome of elections. In Saharanpur, Muslims voters constitute around 42% of the total electorate of 16 lakh.
Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati who are contesting elections together, have given a ticket to Hazi Fazalur Rahman from the seat. He is contesting election on BSP’s symbol. The two former Chief Ministers are scheduled to address a joint rally at Deoband, country’s largest Islamic seminary which is a part of Saharanpur parliamentary sear.
Polling in Saharanpur will take place in the first phase on April 11.