Mahasamund (Chhattisgarh) [India], April 23 : Continuing his verbal assault on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accused the grand old party of 'fuelling violence' in its rule at the Centre to 'hide its corruption'.
Addressing the public meeting in Chhattisgahr's Mahasamund on Tuesday, PM Modi said Congress and development can't go hand in hand, adding, "Wherever and whenever the Congress ruled, development was derailed. The Congress and development don't go hand in hand. Violence and corruption peaked under their rule instead."
Alleging that Naxalism 'flourished' under the Congress rule in Chhattisgarh, Prime Minister Modi said the Left-Wing terror has been reined in to a significant extent under the present BJP dispensation.
He added, for good measure, that the double-engine government in the state was committed to rooting out the menace from the state.
"The Congress couldn't stop the violence in the Northeast. In Chhattisgarh, too, Naxalism flourished under Congress. Why? It was because of their corrupt ways. To hide its corruption, Congress fuelled violence. While people suffered, they filled its coffers," PM Modi said.
"Under the BJP, corruption and Naxalism are under control. Naxalism is rapidly decreasing in Chhattisgarh. I guarantee that Naxalism will be rooted out altogether in Chhattisgarh," he added.
Taking a dig at the Opposition bloc--INDIA--over apparent disunity, PM Modi added, "It seems that there is a conflict within the INDI alliance. Two days ago, there was a rally of the INDI alliance in Jharkhand, where heads were broken and clothes torn off in public. During their first rally, several leaders were seen holding each other's hands on stage. However, in the last rally, you could all see that almost half of their leaders have left them."
"In Delhi, where the royal family of the Congress lives (New Delhi constituency), the vote of their first family, itself, will not go to Congress this time (the grand old party has set aside the constituency for AAP as part of a seat-sharing deal). And, they are going around the country, asking you to vote for them. There is no Congress candidate this time where their first family resides," PM Modi added.
He asserted that the first phase of polling was one-sided voting in favour of the BJP-led NDA, adding that the people have made up their minds to repose their electoral trust in the BJP again.
He also urged voters to exercise their franchise in record numbers in the second phase.
Earlier in the day, he termed the country's 'Nari Shakti' (women power) as his 'Raksha Kavach' (protective shield) and said that as long as the 'mothers and sisters' are with him, the Opposition's attempts to peddle its 'agenda' against him wouldn't succeed.
Addressing a public rally at Janjgir-Champa in Chhattisgarh, PM Modi hit back at Congress leader Charan Das Mahant over his call to 'break' his head, saying "No one can inflict any harm on Modi."
"Congress people (Mahant) are now saying they will break Modi's head. As long as my mothers and sisters are with me, no one can bring any harm to Modi. The mothers and sisters are my 'Raksha Kavach' (protective shield). You can imagine the kind of leaders, who abuse the 'Modi Samaj' (a reference to Rahul Gandhi's alleged imputation that everyone with the surname 'Modi' was a thief) and 'Sahu Samaj' (a community of traders)," the Prime Minister said.
"Now, they are threatening to break Modi's head. A Congress leader even wished death to Modi. But his wish will never come true because where 140 crore people stand with you, 'vaha maut ko bhi lambe samay ke liye intezar karna padhta hai' (even death has to wait a long time)," he added.
Polling for the Lok Sabha in Chhattisgarh is being held in three phases. While only a lone seat polled in the opening phase on April 19, the remaining 10 Lok Sabha constituencies will go to polls on April 26 and May 7.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP won 9 of the 11 Lok Sabha seats in the state, while the Congress had to settle for just 2 seats.