Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lashed out at the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi, asserting that any industrialist will think 50 times before investing in states ruled by the party, owing to the shehzada’s use of Maoist language. Modi, addressing a poll rally here, also accused the grand old party of patronising dynastic politics and considering Lok Sabha seats as ancestral properties.

“The language used by the Congress shehzada’ will make any industrialist think 50 times before investing in states ruled by the party… The ‘shehzada’ is using language spoken by Maoists and is extorting money through innovative methods, the PM said, in an apparent reference to Gandhi. Modi said like the Maoists, the language used by Gandhi was to extort money from industrialists.

The prime minister’s allegations came in the backdrop of the Congress leader’s recent comments, referring to a speech by Modi in which he had stated that the party received money from top industrialists. Gandhi, a former Congress president, had on Saturday said in New Delhi: “I’m ready to debate with PM Modi whenever and wherever he wants, but I’m sure he won’t come. The first question I would ask PM Modi is what is his relationship with Adani…

The PM talks about the Congress getting tempo-loads of money from Adani-Ambani, but he doesn’t dare to get it probed, Gandhi had said. In the Jamshedpur rally where he campaigned for BJP’s Bidyut Baran Mahto, Modi asserted that he has broken the backbone of the Naxals, but the Congress and JMM have taken the responsibility of “extorting funds”.

I dare the CMs of Congress and INDIA bloc-ruled states to answer as to whether they agree with the anti-industry and anti-industrialist language of their ‘shehzada’, he said. Taking a dig at Gandhi over his decision to contest from the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat, he said the Congress shehzada’ rushed to the constituency, contending that it is my mummy’s seat, which not even an eight-year-old school boy will say.

“His mother (Sonia Gandhi) said that she is handing over her son to Rae Bareli… She could not find even a single party worker devoted to them… The voters of Rae Bareli in turn ask her as to where they were when people were in trouble during the Covid pandemic,” Modi said. “The Congress is writing a ‘vasiyatnama’ (will); they consider Parliament seats as ‘khandani jaydad’ (ancestral property),” he alleged.

Earlier this month, the Congress had announced Rahul Gandhi’s candidature from the Rae Bareli seat, held by his mother Sonia Gandhi for the last two decades. She recently moved to the Rajya Sabha. Attacking the opposition INDIA bloc, the PM said the Congress and JMM have nothing to do with the development of the country, as they are neck-deep in corruption.

“The Congress is the mother of corruption, it has been involved in numerous scams, including the coal and 2G scams… The JMM and Congress are not concerned about industries… Jharkhand, despite its rich resources, is known for heaps of black money with corrupt leaders. They did not even spare the Army and usurped its land… Former Jharkhand CM (Hemant Soren) is rotting in jail for corruption,” Modi said. The prime minister also assured people that he would recover the looted public money from corrupt leaders in the state, and return it to the poor to whom the funds belong.

He accused the Congress of denying basic amenities to people, and alleged that the condition of 18,000 villages was similar to that of the 18th century during the party’s previous regimes. “Modi gave Jan Dhan accounts to 52 crore people, pucca houses to four crore people, electricity to 18,000 villages along with pure tap water, modernised railways and augmented infrastructure,” he said.

The PM also alleged that the Jharkhand government was creating hurdles in the way of the proposed Dhalbhumgarh airport in East Singhbhum. The Jamshedpur seat, with a total electorate of 18.41 lakh, will go to polls on May 25.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that the BJP is winning only one seat in Uttar Pradesh. ”Have you heard (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi is winning only one BJP seat of Kyoto (Varanasi) in Uttar Pradesh,” said Gandhi while addressing a joint poll meeting with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav in Prayagraj in support of INDIA bloc candidate Ujjawal Raman Singh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier said that he will turn Varanasi into Kyoto, a picturesque town in Japan. “The fight is to save the Constitution. The BJP and the RSS are attacking it, and I want to tell them that no power can tear and throw the Constitution away,” Gandhi said while waiving a copy of the Indian Constitution.

Gandhi reiterated the promises made by the Congress and appealed to vote for the party’s candidate. ”We are going to make a law for an MSP of farm produce and we will also provide support to the unemployed youth,” he added.

”We will throw the Agniveer scheme into the garbage and provide recruitment in the armed forces as it used to be done before,” Gandhi said. Speaking before Gandhi, Yadav alleged that the BJP is after people’s lives and the Constitution. ”The BJP put our lives in danger with the Covid vaccine and now wants to destroy the Constitution,” Yadav said.

Yadav promised that jobs will be be provided to the youth after the INDIA bloc government is formed. ”We will take back the Agniveer scheme of recruitment in the armed force and will provide permanent jobs,” Yadav said.

Ujjawal Raman Singh is contesting from the Allahabad Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket. He is pitted against BJP’s Neeraj Tripathi. Polling in Allahabad is to be held on May 25 in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha polls.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)