Criticising the previous Congress governments for going soft on terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the previous governments failed to provide the country with a safe environment under which elections, cricket matches and festivities could be held together without fear.
Taking a dig at the handling of the 26/11 terror strikes by the then Congress government, Mr. Modi said whenever a terror attack took place, the governments of the day “only changed home ministers when they needed to change policies.”
Addressing a rally in Bandra Kurla Complex, accompanied by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Mr. Modi said, as many as 33,000 policemen were martyred in the line of duty but the Congress government did not construct a single memorial. Thousands of policemen made the supreme sacrifice during terror strikes in major cities, including Mumbai, but were never honoured by the governments of the day. “But my government has constructed a memorial for policemen who have died in the line of duty in New Delhi,” he said. He also said his Government “has been different” in hunting down terrorists and eliminating them.
The PM said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies are confident of winning a majority, and even crossing the 282 mark. “The Congress, by all estimates, will get less than 40 seats. I want to ask voters, ‘What is the point of them choosing such a party’? Instead, they should choose the BJP, and the NDA (National Democratic Alliance), and make it stronger and even better in 2019,” he said.
Reacting to the speech, Mumbai unit Congress president Milind Deora, criticised the PM for focusing on emotions instead of substantial issues of development. The speech is a clear indicator of the government failure to deliver on important agendas, he said. “The Prime Minister is in Mumbai today. Mumbaikars should ask why he is encouraging those who insult our armed forces and our brave police? If the Prime Minister truly respects Maharashtra Police, he should withdraw Pragya Thakur’s ticket immediately. That’s the least he can do to honour martyr Hemant Karkare,” Mr. Deora said.
