Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off his campaign on Friday for the crucial Maharashtra assembly polls with unity message of ek hai, toh safe hai, building on his party colleague and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath's batenge to katenge slogan.
Modi dared Congress allies in Maharashtra to get party MP Rahul Gandhi to speak for 15 minutes in praise of Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, whose contributions to the country, he said, were unparalleled.
Addressing two poll rallies during the day, the BJP's star campaigner called out the Congress for its "divisive" brand of politics characterised by pitting one caste against another, and maintained since the days of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the party has been opposed to reservation.
Seeking votes for the ruling Mahayuti coalition, he harped on its development agenda and sought to portray the Maha Vikas Aghadi as directionless, saying the opposition bloc resembles a vehicle without wheels or brakes with scramble among its partners to occupy the driver's seat.
In his first rally at Dhule in North Maharashtra for the November 20 polls, Modi accused the Congress of pitting one caste against another and urged people to stay united.
“The sole agenda of the Congress party is to make one caste fight against another. They do not want SCs, STs and OBCs to progress and get their due recognition… Remember, ek hai toh safe hai (We are safe if we are united),” the Bharatiya Janata Party stalwart told the crowd.
Notably, at his rallies, Adityanath, a senior BJP leader, has been raising the slogan of 'batenge to katenge' (if divided, we perish).
Further attacking the Congress, Modi accused the Grand Old Party of being "anti-reservation" since assuming power post-independence.
“Since Nehru's time, the Congress and his family opposed reservation and now their fourth generation ‘yuvraj' (prince) is working for caste divisions,” he said, referring to Lok Sabha MP Gandhi.
The PM also accused the INDIA bloc, of which the Congress is a key member, of wanting to take the Constitution out of Jammu and Kashmir and asserted no power in the world can restore Article 370 in the Union Territory.
The PM said the Congress and its allies should not encourage the “Pakistan agenda” and speak the language of separatists.
“Only Ambedkar's Constitution will be followed in J-K .You must have seen on TV how a resolution was moved in the J&K assembly on bringing back Article 370 and when BJP MLAs protested, they were thrown out. The country and Maharashtra should understand this,” Modi said.
The BJP's star campaigner also accused the Congress of playing a dangerous game of dividing castes and communities. If ST (Scheduled Tribes), SC (Scheduled Castes) and OBCs (Other Backward Classes) stay united, the Congress politics will be over, he said.
Recalling his affinity with Dhule and Maharashtra, Modi said whenever he has asked something from the people of the state, they have been gracious.
“I sought your blessings in 2014 to end the 15 years of misrule of the previous government. You graciously ensured that BJP got unprecedented success. Today, I am starting my campaign in Maharashtra from Dhule. Each and every candidate of Mahayuti seeks your blessings,” he said.
“I assure you that the pace at which Maharashtra's development has gained in the last two-and-a-half years will not be allowed to stop,” asserted the PM.
The MVA has no intention to work for the development of people and the state and the goal of its leaders is to loot citizens, he alleged.
“The MVA (in power from November 2019-June 2022) put roadblocks on development projects and stopped every scheme which could have improved people's lives. The situation changed for better when the Mahayuti government was formed (in June 2022),” the PM insisted.
In his second rally in adjoining Nashik district, Modi sought to corner Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray president Uddhav Thackeray, the BJP's one-time saffron ally and Hindutva supporter who joined forces with "secular" Congress and the united Nationalist Congress Party in November 2019.
'For us, Marathi history, culture is a centre of faith. Savarkar is a source of inspiration. But the Congress and its allies never gave Marathi the respect it deserves. They abuse Savarkar regularly. A senior MVA leader has asked the Congress yuvraj (referring to Gandhi) to stop disrespecting Savarkar as elections are taking place here. Those who consider Savarkar as an icon are with the Congress," he said.
The BJP stalwart accused the Congress of trying to weaken and divide OBCs for power, and called it a par-jeevi (parasite) which was dependent on other parties to survive.
'It is a par-jeevi (parasite) which is alive on crutches -- whether it is Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh or Jharkhand (states where Congress has aligned with regional parties)," he noted.
Modi said the Congress was angry with OBCs because their consolidation in the 1990s (which marked an era of Mandal politics) resulted in the party losing power.
"OBCs became aware of their rights in the 1990s, it brought shutters down on the Congress and their single party rule ended. So, the Congress is angry and wants to weaken OBCs and break their unity," he maintained.
Describing the Congress and its allies as "sinners", he said while the BJP and Mahayuti were giving an account of their work, the Grand Old Party has opened jhoot ki dukan (shop of lies).
Polls for the 288-member assembly will take place on November 20 and results will be out three days later.
