Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, May 11: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a yet another blistering attack on the Congress targeting the party for its trying to create a “fear psychosis” among the people against Pakistan because it was a nuclear power.
“Congress always finds ways to scare people about Pakistan,” Mr Modi said referring to an old video of the Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyer where he was heard saying that Indian should not hesitate to enter into a dialogue with Pakistan because it was a sovereign nation and also owned nuclear bombs.
Addressing a series of election rallies in Odisha, Mr Modi referred to the Congress leaders as to be “virtually dead” and said “yeh mare pade log, desh ke mann ko bhi maar rahe hain” (These people, who are virtually dead, are trying to kill the soul of the country).
Taking a jibe at Pakistan’s current difficult economic conditions, Mr Modi said the condition of Pakistan was such that they can’t even handle the bomb (nuclear). “They are now out to sell it … so that they find someone to buy it… but people know that it’s not of good quality. Hence, it’s not being sold,” he said.
The Congress distanced itself from Aiyar’s statements, with party spokesperson Pawan Khera saying, “INC and indeed the entire nation recalls with pride that in December 1971 Pakistan was broken and Bangladesh emerged thanks to Indira Gandhi’s decisive and determined leadership and the valour of our armed forces.”
He further asserted that the people of Jammu and Kashmir faced terrorism for 60 years because of Congress. “They (Congress) create fear psychosis in the minds of Indians by reiterating Pakistan is a nuclear power. Due to Congress’ weak mindset, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have struggled for decades. India will never forget the times when India used to have frequent terrorist attacks and the Congress leaders used to sit with the perpetrators of terrorism. They would say ‘Be careful… Pakistan has an atom bomb… these “mare pade log” (people about to die) are trying to kill the mindset of the country. The Congress has always had that mindset.
“After the 26/11 attacks, Congress and the INDI alliance didn’t have any inquiry on the attacks for fear of upsetting their vote bank. Congress rather used to have meetings with terrorists.” They didn’t dare to initiate an investigation against them after the 26/11 attack because they did not have the guts to take action against the terrorists involved in the attack. The people of the INDI alliance used to think that their vote bank would get affected,” he said.
PM Modi said that India has made up their mind that the NDA will cross 400 in the Lok Sabha elections and the Congress would not cross even 50 seats and lose the status of a recognised opposition party. “India has made up their mind that the NDA will cross 400 (in Lok Sabha). The people of Congress must note that the country has now decided that on June 4, they won’t get the seats that are needed to be the opposition, they will be limited below 50 seats,” he said.
Mr Modi also attacked the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government, hitherto his close ally, in Odisha and the chief minister Naveen Patnaik with whom the BJP was an electoral partner till the declaration of the Lok Sabha elections. Suddenly Mr Modi found that despite being in power for nearly 25 years, Mr Patnaik did not even know the names of the districts and their headquarters in his state and challenged him to call out the names of the districts or name 10 villages in his own constituency without referring to a piece of paper.
The state of Odisha will hold Assembly elections and Lok Sabha elections in four phases from May 13 to June 1, with vote counting scheduled for June 4. In the 2019 Assembly election, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) won 112 out of 146 seats, while the BJP won 23 seats and the Congress only 9. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) won the majority of seats in the state, while the BJP and the Congress brought up the rear. The BJD won 12 seats, the BJP finished a close second at 8, and the Congress bagged just a lone seat.
Attacking the Biju Janata Dal and chief minister Naveen Patnaik, Mr Modi said he was challenging Mr Patnaik to name the districts of Odisha without seeing a paper. “The CM, who cannot even name the districts and its district headquarters without a piece of paper, how far will he be able to understand the pain and suffering of the people. Ask him a question on my behalf that as he (Naveen) is contesting from Kantabanji, can he name 10 villages? I am sure that he would not be able to name even 10 villages without seeing a paper despite being CM for so many years. He (Naveen Patnaik) doesn’t know your sorrows, dreams and capabilities as he is away from the soil and people,” he said.
Modi said though the people of Odisha gave opportunity to BJD for 25 years, its leaders are now living in palatial bungalows and vehicles, but the people are forced to migrate outside in search of work. “Was Odisha born after Modi? The state has been there with its rich culture spanning over 1,000 years. However, the Congress only showed the state’s pictures of poverty to the world. The BJD government also did not dare to stop the attempts of Congress or change the poverty scenario. Odisha is one of the richest states in the country, but the people are battling poverty. The BJD government is not providing water for irrigation, nor jobs. How long will the people of Odisha be forced to live in such situations? Till the corrupt BJD is in power, the beneficiaries will not be able to reap the benefits of the schemes, be it toilets, gas, pucca houses or drinking water. Fifty years of the people of Odisha have been lost. It is time to save Odisha, Odia Asmita and future of the children of the state. BJP has approved several Eklavya schools. But the BJD leaders have usurped tribal lands. Aau kete din sahiba Odisha- (how long will Odisha tolerate),” he said.
Highlighting the benefits of Ayushman Bharat scheme, he expressed concerns over the non-implementation of the scheme in Odisha. “It is one of the biggest schemes and the people here are deprived of the benefits. I have been trying to convince the Odisha government to implement the scheme in the last 5 years. Does such an insensitive government need to remain in power here?” Modi asked.
Taking a dig at Naveen Patnaik’s trusted lieutenant VK Pandian, Modi asked who is running the Odisha government. “The entire governance has been outsourced in Odisha. A ‘Super CM’ is now there over the CM chosen by the democratically elected legislators. Are sons and daughters born in the land of Odisha not capable of running the govt? Are people born here not capable of ensuring development? Do you want the reins of power to be given to a person who does not understand Odisha,” he asked. “Be it Gopabandhu Das, Harekrushna Mahatab, Biju Babu and others, no one ever compromised with Odia Asmita. Today, the Odia culture is in danger; and how to protect Odia Asmita is the biggest challenge. Hence, the BJP has decided to bring out Odisha from such a crisis as Odia Asmita cannot be mortgaged.”
Responding to the attacks of PM Modi, BJD leader VK Pandian said while the Modi government is beating its drums on double engine sarkar, the Centre is spending only ₹6,000 crore for Ayushman Bharat for the entire country. “Odisha would get just ₹300 crore. But on Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana, the state is spending ₹300 crore every month. Why did the Centre fail to build coastal highway in Odisha? We are tired of requesting the Centre over raising the coal royalty. Had the coal royalty been revised, Odisha would have got ₹5 lakh crore extra,” said Pandian.
