MEERUT : In his first rally in Uttar Pradesh after polls were announced, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday alleged the corrupt he had “robbed” with note-ban have ganged up to bring him down and targeted the Samajwadi Party SP-Congress alliance, saying the two parties which abused each other till recently are now locked in an embrace to save themselves.
Modi asked the people in Uttar Pradesh to “rid the state of SCAM - S for Samajwadi (party), C for Congress, A for Akhilesh (Yadav) and M for Mayawati”, saying they have to choose between development agenda of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and those who give shelter to criminals, indulge in vote bank politics and encourage land and mine mafias.
Hours after Modi’s remarks, Akhilesh Yadav returned fire, saying that ‘A’ and ‘M’ in the acronym stand for BJP President Amit Shah and Modi. Addressing a rally at Auraiya, the 43-year-old Samajwadi leader said SCAM means — “Save the Country from Amit Shah and Modi”. “If we have to save the country, we have to save it from the politicians whose names start with A and M,” Akhilesh said to loud cheers from his supporters.
Congress spokesperson Tom Vaddakan said: “Let us also tell them the meaning of SCAM in Hindi. “SCAM means Sattabhogi (hungry for power), Kapti dhongi (fraudster) and Amit Shah Modi.”
BSP chief Mayawati said: “It is improper for a person sitting on the post of Prime Minister to refer M for Mayawati just to ignite his political fights, BSP chief Mayawati said. “This clearly reflects his casteist mentality,” she said.
Modi, in his speech, said till a few months back the Congress was accusing the ruling the SP of corruption and neglecting farmers, but the two have now “embraced each other”.
“What changed overnight that the two arch rivals embraced each other? This is to save themselves. Those who cannot save themselves, how will they save Uttar Pradesh?” Modi said. The PM urged the voters to defeat parties involved in graft and leaders who promoted caste and vote-bank politics.
Referring to the November 8 demonetisation of `500 and `1,000 notes, Modi said he knew that people with ill-gotten wealth will become his enemies but the people are with him.
“I am not going to stop, neither will I bow to such forces. I am Modi... I will not rest and will not allow those with ill-gotten money to rest. I am not going to stop the fight,” the BJP leader said as the audience cheered. Modi took potshots at the BSP, saying people who had sold tickets and stashed money in rooms had lost it all (due to demonetisation).