LUCKNOW: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday gave the clarion call for the 2019 elections from Maghar, the ‘gateway to hell’ and also the burial place of Sufi saint Kabir Das.
Modi, who renewed the call for political support and issued a note of caution against his rivals, at a major rally, also paid glowing tributes to Sufi Saint Kabir Das on his 500th death anniversary in this eastern UP town in Sant Kabirnagar district.
Addressing a public rally at the ' nirvan sthal ' of Sant Kabir Das after laying a 'chadar' at the mazar of the poet, the prime minister also said that those who imposed Emergency and those opposed to it have now come together.
"Some parties don't want peace and development. They (Opposition parties) think if there will be unrest, they will benefit politically but these people are cut off from roots and don't know the nature of this nation of Sant Kabir, Mahatma Gandhi and Baba Ambedkar," he said.
With his party facing a potential threat from the imminent grand alliance of opposition parties, Modi claimed they were out to vitiate the country’s political atmosphere by driving wedges in society along the lines of faith and caste for their own narrow gains.
The prime minister also lashed out at opposition parties for creating "hindrance" in passage of the Triple Talaq bill in Parliament even though Muslim women have been demanding it.
Recalling Ambedkar's contribution, he said though he advocated for equality in society, unfortunately there are parties that are using his ideals for political gains.
Taunting SP chief Akhilesh Yadav indirectly over the recent bungalow row, Modi said, “The head of the previous dispensation in UP had no time to discuss the PM Awas Yojana. He was never bothered about providing shelter to the poor but was only interested in his bungalow.”
Invoking Sant Kabir Das in his speech time and again, the Prime Minister called upon the people to rise above the barriers of caste and creed and focus on wisdom and knowledge to grow in life.
Why Maghar is important?
Maghar is considered to be ‘gateway to hell’ because of a superstition attached to it. To dispel this myth, Sant Kabir Das travelled to this place and breathed his last here.
Followers of Kabir, popularly known as ‘Kabir Panthis’, are mostly from the Dalit and backward Hindu castes, with their maximum concentration in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Political observers are seeing it as an effort by Modi to woo Dalits and backwards back
to the BJP as they have supposedly drifted away from it.
In fact, four back to back defeats in recent bypolls are considered to be the reflection of this disillusionment with the saffron party.
(with PTI inputs)