LUCKNOW: Launching the BJP’s poll campaign with a mega rally in Meerut on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi coined a new acronym - SARAB - for the opposition alliance in UP, calling it an opportunist tie-up.
"The 'Sa' of Samajwadi Party, 'Ra' of Rashtriya Lok Dal and 'Ba' of Bahujan Samaj Party form SARAB," PM Modi said, addressing a large gathering as he launched his party’s campaign in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha elections.
The PM urged the people to keep away from ‘SARAB’ as it was bad for health and ruined life. He launched a blistering attack on the alliance calling it ‘mahamilawati’ (adulterated mix) and reminded the people of the contradictions in the SP-BSP alliance by referring to the guest house episode of 1995 and the compulsions which forced the archrivals to shake hands in UP.
The opposition parties took umbrage over the acronym. The Congress demanded an apology accusing him of stooping to a new low.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav drew attention to a flaw in the PM's Hindi, saying, “The PM muddled up "sarab (mirage)" and "sharab (liquor)" because of the teleprompter.”
Modi was accompanied by CM Yogi Aditynath and other state leaders at the rally in Meerut which will go to the polls along with seven other constituencies – Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Bijnor, Ghaziabad and Noida – of western UP in the first phase on April 11.
Leading the BJP blitzkrieg, Modi is expected to address around 200 rallies across the nation through all seven phases. This is just half of what he had addressed in 2014. In the previous Lok Sabha polls, Modi had addressed around 435 rallies covering 3 lakh kilometres across the country.
In Meerut, striking a personal chord by paying tribute to towering Jat leader and ex-PM Chaudhury Charan Singh, the PM even compared the SP-BSP alliance with the Congress-SP tie-up that was stitched by Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi just before the 2017 UP assembly polls. “It didn’t take them much time to switch from 'UP ke do ladke' (Congress-SP alliance) to 'Bua-Babua' (SP-BSP pact)," said the PM. “They have changed the signboard but the shop remains the same,” he added.
The PM explained that he chose Meerut - the land of revolution - for his Vijay Sankalp Rally to bring in a new revolution for a ‘New India’.
Taking a jibe at the Congress’ NYAY scheme, Modi claimed that those who could not open bank accounts for the poor for seven decades were now promising direct transfer of money into their accounts.
Weaving his discourse around the ‘chowkidaar’ narrative, the PM addressed himself as chowkidaar throughout. Claiming that his government had been more decisive than the previous dispensation in responding to the designs of Pakistan, Modi said during BJP’s five-year rule, the country saw surgical strikes on land, in air and space, marking the increasing prowess of India.
He took a pot shot at Congress president Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over their criticism of his announcement of the successful launch of the anti-satellite missile on
Wednesday.
While he didn’t forget to target the Congress on corruption by referring to the Vadra factor and dynastic politics, the PM also accused the previous government of going soft on terror. On one side, there was
a strong 'chowkidar', while the other side had a line of tainted people, Modi said.
The PM said there were leaders who were in a popularity race in Pakistan by questioning the valour of the Indian soldier. “They are all over Pakistani media. You tell me what does our nation want? A hero of India or of Pakistan?” he asked the gathering.
“Desh ko sabut nahi sapoot chahiye. Jo sabut mangte hain woh sapooton ko gaali dete hain (The country doesn’t need evidence, it needs sons. Those who seek evidence abuse the sons of the soil),” he said, targeting those who had raised fingers at the surgical strikes carried out by Indian forces.
Later, addressing a rally in Rudrapur in Uttarakhand, the PM referred to the criticism of Army chief Lt Gen Bipin Rawat after the 2016 surgical strikes and asked the gathering if it was proper to abuse him.
In Meerut, the PM touched on issues - ranging from triple talaq to cane dues - strategically important to western UP. In Rudrapur, greeting the gathering in Kumaoni, the PM struck an emotional chord by
calling the hill state a seat of not only one of the four dhams - Badrinath - but a ‘panch dham’ also as it was the ‘Sainik Dham’, the land of bravehearts who were securing the country at the borders.