Taking a dig at Congress’ recent nationwide protest against price rise and unemployment in black clothes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that “irrespective of the black magic and their belief in superstition, the public's trust will never be restored in them.”
Mr. Modi was speaking at an event to dedicate the second generation Ethanol Plant in Panipat, Haryana, to the nation via video conferencing.
The Prime Minister said amid Amrit Mahotsav when the entire country is painted in Tricolour, he would like to draw the attention of the country towards an attempt made to defame this holy occasion, and humiliate our brave freedom fighters.
He said there are some people in the country who are trapped in the vortex of negativity and immersed in despair. After lying against the government, the public is not ready to trust such people. “In such desperation, these people are also seen turning towards black magic. Those who think that by wearing black clothes, their period of despair will end are unaware that irrespective of the black magic and their belief in superstition, the public's trust will never be restored in them,” said Mr. Modi referring to the August 5 protests.
The Prime Minister said anyone could come and announce free petrol and diesel if their politics revolves around selfishness. Such steps would take away the rights of our children, and prevent the country from becoming self-reliant. Due to such selfish policies, the burden on honest taxpayers of the country would also increase, the PM remarked.
The Prime Minister said that people who have a tendency to avoid problems by adopting shortcuts for political selfishness can never solve the problems permanently. Those adopting short cuts may get applause for some time, and may gain political advantage, but that does not solve the problem.
The 2G Ethanol Plant has been built at an estimated cost of ₹900 crore by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. and is located close to the Panipat Refinery. Based on state-of-the-art indigenous technology, the project will utilise about 2 lakh tonnes of rice straw (parali) annually to generate around 3 crore litres of ethanol.
Congress retort
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared a picture of Mr. Modi in black clothes and said that the Prime Minister was making pointless remarks.
“They could not do anything to bring black money, now they are making a pointless issue about black clothes. The country wants the Prime Minister to talk about their problems, but ‘jumlajeevi’ keeps saying anything,” Mr. Ramesh tweeted in Hindi.
