CHANDIGARH/MUMBAI: Taking a swipe at Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief Om Prakash Chautala, who has been convicted and sentenced to 10 years in jail in a teachers’ recruitment scam case, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked voters in Haryana if they would want to be governed from jail.
Addressing an election rally in Karnal, Modi said, “All governments in the past have brought misery. There is lawlessness in the state. If you want change, you have to vote for me.”
He also rubbished the Congress’ claims that Haryana was the No.1 state in the country, pointing out at it lacked in several parameters, including literacy, health, employment and economic growth.
“All my farmer brothers and sisters are being misled. You are being told that the Centre has imposed a ban on Basmati rice export. It is a lie and injustice to the farmers,” he said. Striking a chord with the voters, Modi recalled his formative years in Haryana, where he received his education and political training. “I have to pay back the debt I owe to Haryana. If you want me to stay connected with you, you need to give full mandate to the BJP,” he said. “Today the world is looking up to India. It is not because of Modi. It is because of 1.25 crore people who have given India a stable government. If you want Haryana to develop, remove the Congress.” In Maharashtra, the Prime Minister tore into the former Congress-NCP combine, accusing it of “ruining an entire generation”. He also accused the two parties of extortion in the slums. Wooing 55 lakh slum dwellers in Mumbai, the Prime Minister promised them pucca houses as well as water and electricity connection by August 15, 2022. Beginning his rallies in Beed, Aurangabad and Mumbai in Marathi, Modi said, “I pay respects to the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji.
“This state has given employment to people from every part of the country. If you want to make the Modi government at the Centre a success, you have to take Maharashtra forward,” the Prime Minister said to huge applause.
In a tactical move, Modi did not refer to former ally Shiv Sena but hit at its leader Uddhav Thackeray’s jibe asking if Modi was interested in becoming Maharashtra’s Chief Minister, as he was seeking votes in his name. “What if the state government stops my plans for Maharashtra? If you don’t want this to happen, you should elect a BJP government with full majority.”