Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Congress leadership has been spreading canards about a “cultural invasion” if the Bharatiya Janata Party comes to power.
Addressing a BJP rally at Lunglei, about 175 km south of Mizoram capital Aizawl, he also accused the Congress of belittling and abusing indigenous cultures of the northeast.
Without naming Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who, during his election rally had said the BJP and RSS were trying to make inroads into Christian-majority Mizoram to impose their ideology, Mr. Modi said the Congress indulged in the culture of “divide-and-rule” while the BJP believed in the culture of development.
“The Congress has this habit of creating a fear psychosis. I feel a deep sense of anguish when I see the leaders of the Congress party abuse your traditions. When I wear various local dresses gifted across the northeast, they call it outlandish, poor and strange. This is the real face of the Congress leaders. It is proof they give no value to your thoughts, hopes and aspirations. The Congress is only interested in power,” he said.
At a Congress rally in Champhai on Tuesday, Mr. Gandhi said the agenda of the BJP-RSS would adversely affect the culture of the Mizos. Allaying such fears, Mr. Modi said that the BJP government believed in inclusive growth, and would ensure that the rights of the Mizo people as enshrined in the Constitution of India were protected. “You have a rich culture and tradition. You have preserved your language, music, food habits and attire. I admire communities that have protected and enriched their language and culture with deep roots,” he said.
The PM said the Congress’s divisive policy was the reason why people across the country had rejected it. “There was a time when the Congress ruled in most States of the country. Today it is left with only two or three States,” he said, asking the voters of Mizoram to oust the Congress from the State.
Mr. Modi said the CAG had exposed the “corrupt” Congress government in Mizoram for mishandling huge sums of money in the name of New Land Use Policy. “The CAG exposed how funds of NLUP have been misused. The Congress government has distributed government funds to a few individuals in the name of implementing the New Economic Development Programme. The Congress has only made some party leaders rich in the name of eradicating poverty in Mizoram,” he said.
“Funds worth ₹ 250 crore for Centrally-supported schemes have not been properly utilised. The Congress government of Mizoram failed to provide utilisation certificate for another sum of ₹150 crore provided by the North Eastern Council. Likewise, of 28 of 46 Central schemes and 20 of 36 NEC projects are much behind schedule just because of the work culture of the Congress,” he said.
In a bid to attract young voters, Mr. Modi focussed on various development schemes including the Act East Policy that have begun generating huge employment and livelihood opportunities in the region. He also spoke on the sports potential of Mizoram and said the State, along with other north-eastern States, had been contributing towards India becoming a global sporting power.
The BJP government, he said, had earmarked ₹90,000 crore for connectivity infrastructure development in the Northeast. Of this, over Rs 5,000 crore was for the Bairabi-Sairang railway project in Mizoram which would be completed in the next 12 to 18 months, he said.
“The BJP has been developing highways, waterways, airways and I-ways in the Northeast in a never-before pace, and Mizoram cannot afford to lag behind,” he said.
“Mizoram is a powerhouse of sports. This is a big centre of football. It is said that child in Mizoram learns to kick first, only then utters the word roti ,” Mr. Modi said, and spoke on the BJP’s commitment to promote sports and games in the State.
The PM made a brief stopover at the State capital to meet leaders of NGOs and some BJP candidates at Aijal Club. The NGOs demanded proper resettlement of Bru refugees from the relief camps in Tripura and the reinstatement of Mizo IAS officer Lalnunmawia Chuaungo who was shunted out by former Chief Electoral Officer S.B. Shashank for “interference in the electoral process”.
The BJP candidates sought a special package for Mizoram from the Centre.
