Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday drew a parallel between the Congress party and the Muslim League, suggesting that opposition party's election manifesto share similar ideologies. He further claimed that the Congress, which was once prominent during the freedom movement, has "ended decades ago".
PM Modi addressed rallies in Rajasthan's Ajmer and UP Saharanpur on Saturday while the Congress also held an event in the nearby city of Jaipur to officially launch its manifesto to the public.
PM Modi during his rally in Ajmer, told the public, "The Congress issued a bundle of lies in the form of its manifesto which has unmasked the party. Every page reeks of attempts to tear India apart. It reflects the thoughts that the Muslim League had before Independence. The Congress wants to impose the Muslim League's thoughts from that era on the India of today. And what is remaining of the manifesto is dominated by communist and leftist thoughts."
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He also spoke about the history of the Congress party and its contribution to India's freedom struggle as he slammed the current leadership of the opposition party, he said, "A number of great personalities were associated with the Congress. The name of Mahatma Gandhi was associated with the Congress. The Congress, which is left today, neither has policies in the interest of the nation nor vision for the nation's development."
"Yesterday, the kind of election manifesto was released, it has proved that today's Congress is completely cut off from the hopes and aspirations of today's India," he added addressing an election rally in Saharanpur.
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The Prime Minister asserted that the current Congress lacks principles and policies, suggesting that the party has delegated all its responsibilities to external sources.
He further questioned whether a party with such characteristics could undertake any actions that would benefit the nation.
During his Ajmer rally, PM Modi stated, "If you look at the manifesto, it is clear that they want to push India back into the past century... The Congress has never bothered about nari shakti (women power). Generations of women have suffered after Independence. Shouldn't a Congress like this be punished? Use your vote on April 19 and punish the Congress."
Prime Minister Modi also made a sarcastic remark about the Samajwadi Party, which is part of the INDIA alliance and a collaborator of the Congress in Uttar Pradesh during elections during his Saharnpur rally.
"The situation of SP (Samajwadi Party) in Uttar Pradesh is such that here they have to change their candidates every hour, whereas the situation of Congress is even more strange. The Congress is not getting candidates at all," Prime Minister Modi said.
"Even on the seats, which the Congress considered as its stronghold, it is not able to muster the courage to field candidates," he added apparently referring to the Congress strongholds of Amethi and Rae Bareli.
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Prime Minister Modi said the "INDI alliance has become another name for instability and uncertainty".
"That's why today the country is not taking seriously even a single thing said by them," he added.
Without taking the name of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Prime Minister Modi said, "You might remember here in Uttar Pradesh that the film featuring two boys ('do ladke'), which had flopped last time, the film of two boys has been re-released by these people."
"I do not understand how many times will these INDI alliance members put the wooden pot (on fire)?" he added.
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The 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections saw the Congress and the Samajwadi Party forming an alliance and participating together.
As per the election timetable, the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh will take place on April 19, with eight parliamentary constituencies going to vote.
These are Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina (SC), Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit.
The counting of votes will be held on June 4.
The Congress manifesto was released in Delhi on Friday which focuses on the creation of jobs and the development of infrastructure.
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It also includes the party's commitment to conducting a caste census, which gained significant attention after the Bihar government published the findings of a caste survey last year.
The manifesto further pledges to establish a minimum support price, addressing a crucial demand of farmers, and provide universal free healthcare.
