BHOPAL: Prime Minister Narendra Modi derided the Congress’s arrogance in wresting power at the expense of ‘touching the feet’ of small parties, instead of introspecting its string of electoral defeats.
At a massive Karyakarta Mahakumbh (workers congregation) in Bhopal on Tuesday, Modi attacked the Congress for pursuing the politics of vote bank. “Remember our poll plank is the mantra of development, while the Congress relies on the politics of vote bank, which has destroyed the nation like a termite. It's the duty of our party workers to liberate the society from the politics of vote bank.” said Modi.
The PM gave the guiding mantra of 'Apna Booth Sabse Mazboot' (ensure one's polling booth is strongest) for bringing the BJP to power for the fourth consecutive term in the state.
In a reference to Pakistan's former interior minister Rehman Malik tweeting 'Rahul Gandhi as next PM of India,' Modi said, "As it (Congress) is unable to stitch the wanted coalition in India, its searching for coalition partners abroad. Will some other country decide who will be India's PM?"
"We don't pursue the politics of differentiating between 'Agde' and 'Picchde' (forward and backward), but believe in Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas (development for all). But they (the Congress) want to use a handful of people to engage in slander campaign."
He mocked the Congress, saying mere arrogance and not accepting defeat with humility has seen a 125 year-old party shrink to 44 Lok Sabha seats. "We lost the 1984 polls badly, when even Atal Bihari Vajpayee couldn't taste victory. We accepted the defeat with humility and didn't find an excuse like blaming the EVM for the electoral loss. We went into introspection mode and learnt from our mistakes, which has brought us where we stand today. But the Congress doesn't believe in introspection, it only knows 'Ahankar' (arrogance)," said Modi.
On the Congress' desperation to form a grand coalition, Modi said if it's so committed to coalition, why is it contesting the panchayat polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
Referring obliquely to Rahul's Chowkidar turned Chor barb, Modi asserted that he was being abused since 2001 ever since he entered mainstream politics. "They've possibly used all the abuses in the dictionary against me, but the greater the mud-slinging by them, the more has the BJP's lotus bloomed."
Modi invoked Mahatma Gandhi, Ram Manohar Lohia and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya to highlight that the BJP believed in all possible social ideologies, but didn't mention about Sardar Patel at the congregation of workers.
At the same event, BJP national president Amit Shah mocked the Congress saying on what basis it would solicit votes. "Will you seek votes for the past misrule, or solicit public support on the basis of the troika of Raja, Maharaja and Udyogpati (indirectly referring to Digvijaya Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Kamal Nath).
Later, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan responded to Rahul's 'Ghoshna Machine' barb. "Yes I'm a Ghoshna Machine, but what is Rahul Gandhi? He is a Fun Machine, for whom India's politics is a 'tamasha' (show). He does nothing else, excepting entertaining people," said Chouhan.
On September 17, while interacting with Congress workers in Bhopal, Rahul had dubbed Chouhan as a Ghoshna Machine (announcement machine).