Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday wasted no time in hitting back at Congress leader from Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi, after he mocked Modi’s visit to Dwarka, where he dived into the Arabian Sea off the coast of Gujarat to perform a puja. In a scathing attack, Modi remarked, “Congress’ Shehzada mocked my pooja at the holy site for vote bank politics.”
While addressing an election rally in Amroha, the Prime Minister said, “Lord Krishna went to Gujarat from here. I was born there and now I am in Uttar Pradesh. Kashi made me their MP. When I went to Dwarka, with full devotion, I offered prayers, but Congress’ Shehzada said there is nothing as such to offer prayers. He is insulting the thousands-years-old tradition and our faith just for his vote bank politics. He said nothing lies under the seas. And I want to ask those who called themselves Yaduvanshi in Bihar, if you are a true Yaduvanshi then how are you sitting with a party that is insulting it,” as ANI reported.
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Earlier, Gandhi took a jab at PM for performing an underwater puja in the submerged remnants of the ancient city of Lord Krishna’s Dwarka back in February, where he alleged that critical matters such as inflation and unemployment are being overlooked, “The issues of farmers, inflation, unemployment, and agniveers are the most prominent in the country today, but on TV channels, you will never see discussion on these issues. Instead, TV channels show Modi ji all 24 hours; at times he goes under the sea to do a puja and a TV camera goes with him, then he takes a flight on a seaplane,” he had said.
In his address, the Prime Minister further slammed the previous state administrations in Uttar Pradesh for neglecting the concerns of farmers, stressing upon BJP’s tireless efforts to alleviate their hardships. “The sugarcane farmers of Amroha can never forget how much they were harassed earlier for payments. But today, along with record purchases of sugarcane, record payments are also being made in the state,” he added.
Taking aim at Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi, Modi launched a double-barreled attack, stating that a “film starring two princes” is going on in UP, a narrative he claimed had already been rejected.
“Every time these people set out to ask for votes from the people of UP carrying the basket of nepotism, corruption and appeasement. In their campaign, these people leave no opportunity to attack our faith,” he mentioned.
At last, the Prime Minister urged voters to cast their ballots in the ongoing elections, as the world’s largest democratic exercise commenced today, with the first phase of polling covering 102 constituencies across 21 states and Union Territories.
This Lok Sabha election, scheduled from April 19 to June 1, is poised to become the second longest polling exercise in the country’s electoral history, following the first general election which spanned over five months from September 1951 to February 1952.
(With ANI inputs)