Launching a campaign blitz across western Maharashtra on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi provocatively accused the Opposition Congress and the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance bloc of hatching a conspiracy to aggravate social tensions. He also accused the Opposition of wanting to “steal” the reservation of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other backward classes (OBCs) to hand them over to Muslims in an act of political appeasement.
The thrust of Mr. Modi’s addresses in Solapur, Satara, and at the mega-rally in Pune was that Congress, “blinded” by vote bank politics, was reportedly dividing the country along religious lines. The PM launched broadsides on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, dubbing Mr. Gandhi’s ideas as “dangerous” while calling the 83-year-old Mr. Pawar a “roving spirit” who was responsible for Maharashtra’s chronic political instability.
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Alluding to the Congress and the INDIA bloc, he said, “Those people who cannot challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party and the National Democratic Alliance head-on are now spreading fake videos on social media. By using Artificial Intelligence, statements that we would never have imagined of are being spread through our fake voices… sometimes in my voice, sometimes in Amit Shah or J.P. Nadda’s voice, and sometimes in the voices of our Chief Ministers [NDA CMs]. These people are deliberately trying to create a social conflagration and are hatching a conspiracy to aggravate social tensions.”
Mr. Modi warned that in the coming days, these “forces” were trying to do “something big” in the country by way of disrupting social harmony and requested the Election Commission of India to take stern action against those who were spreading such deepfake videos.
The PM lashed out at the Congress and Rahul Gandhi for reportedly attempting to snatch the reservation given to Dalits, Adivasis, and OBCs in order to redirect them towards Muslims.
“You will be astonished with what the Congress is planning. The Constitution strictly forbids giving reservation along religious lines. After the SC rapped the Congress on this count, they have developed this ‘Karnataka model’ wherein overnight they took out a fatwa and made all Muslims into OBCs, snatching the latter’s 27% quota and leaving the OBCs in limbo,” he said, accusing the Congress of trying to tamper with Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution and then deploy the tweaked Constitution across the country.
“But the Congress and INDIA bloc should beware that as long as Modi is alive, as long as the public’s blessings are with me, I will foil all your efforts at changing the Constitution in the name of religion,” Mr. Modi said.
Mocking Rahul Gandhi and the Congress lack of vision for the country, Mr. Modi claimed the grand old party was bent on taking India back to the Licence Raj era.
“The Congress shehzaade’s statements are dangerous. This princeling is now eyeing your [public’s] hard-earned money. He is saying that the wealth you earn will be X-rayed, including your assets and your jewellery. Some party advisors are thinking of an inheritance tax. Congress leaders are deserting the party. Its younger leaders are quitting, stating that the Congress was in the grip of Maoists,” the PM claimed.
In a blistering attack on Sharad Pawar, Mr. Modi said there were “some roving spirits” who keep upsetting not just the Opposition party but also cause disturbance within his party and his family.
“There are some wandering spirits whose dreams are never fulfilled. Maharashtra, too, has been prey to such spirits. 45 years ago, a big leader [Sharad Pawar], for the sake of his ambitions, began this game. Since then, Maharashtra plunged into a period of instability with no Chief Ministers being able to complete their tenure,” he said, alluding to 1978 when Mr. Pawar became the State’s youngest CM by toppling Congressman Vasantdada Patil’s government.
“India has to saved from such roving spirits. Hence, I would want this Mahayuti government in Maharashtra to surge forward will full strength and complete the pending works of the last 25 years,” the PM said.
Mr. Modi further accused past Congress-led governments of allegedly giving “a free rein” to terrorists.
“The Congress had conjured up the theory of ‘saffron terror’ by putting all blame on innocent Hindus. They were even ready to put the blame of the 2008 Mumbai terror strike on sacred saffron,” Mr. Modi claimed, attacking the Congress as the party that supported prohibited outfits like the controversial Popular Front of India, as well as reportedly supporting Yasin Bhatkal and Yakub Memon.
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He reassured that the BJP had no intention of changing the Constitution and that the Opposition was deliberately spreading such misinformation.
“Today, even if Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar wanted to change the Constitution, he cannot do …so, forget Modi trying to do it. The Congress didn’t even let Dr. Ambedkar’s Constitution be implemented in Jammu and Kashmir. By implementing Article 370, Congress insulted the country’s Constitution. When the NDA government removed Article 370, it became the biggest guarantee of social justice. For the first time in Jammu and Kashmir, SC/ST/OBCs and women have received the same rights that Babasaheb envisioned for the country. This is Modi’s track record of social justice,” the PM said.
Mr. Modi was campaigning for the Mahayuti’s candidates – Maratha royal Udayanraje Bhosale in Satara, Ram Satpute in Solapur, and the four Pune district seats - Sunetra Pawar (Baramati), Murlidhar Mohol (Pune Lok Sabha), Shrirang Barne (Maval), and Shivajirao Adhalrao-Patil (Shirur).
While Baramati, Solapur and Satara went to polls in the third phase on May 7, voting for Pune, Shirur, and Maval will take place in the fourth phase on May 13.
