Lucknow: Addressing a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally at Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi remarked Friday that if Congress comes to power, it will ‘bulldoze’ the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
“If they come to power, they will send Ram Lalla to a tent again, and run a bulldozer over the temple,” he said.
The prime minister added, “They (INDIA bloc) should take tuition from Yogi ji — where to run a bulldozer and where not.”
Saying that the power of a single vote ended the 500-year-long wait for the establishment of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, Modi said that people used to “shed tears” and slam the previous government on seeing “Ram Lalla in a tent”.
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister Anupriya Patel, BJP candidate for Mohanlalganj Lok Sabha constituency Kaushal Kishore and UP cabinet minister Satish Chandra Sharma were also in attendance at the rally. Modi was canvassing for the party’s Barabanki candidate Rajrani Rawat and Kaushal Kishore.
PM Modi went on to laud UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his government’s work in the state, especially initiatives like the One District, One Product (ODOP) mission. “Thanks to Yogi Ji’s ODOP mission, now I don’t have to worry about purchasing gifts when I go abroad,” he said, adding that the chief minister’s cleanliness campaign in Uttar Pradesh has fostered a favourable investment environment in the state.
His appreciation for CM Yogi came after comments by Aam Aadmi Party chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, who had said that much like Vasundhara Raje, Shivraj Chouhan, Manohar Lal Khattar and Raman Singh, PM Modi will remove Yogi Adityanath from CM’s position within two months of BJP being voted to power.
The prime minister further claimed that the Congress had granted reservations to Muslims under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category in Karnataka “overnight” — an allegation that he has made in the previous rallies, too.
Media reports, however, have suggested that deliberations on the issue of categorising Muslims as OBC had first taken place in 1921. The reservation was provided only in 1995 under the Janata Dal(Secular)-led government.
PM Modi said that during the drafting of the Constitution, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar had staunchly opposed reservations on the basis of religion, a stance echoed by his ancestors.
“All the Muslims in Karnataka were converted into OBCs overnight. Will you allow them to usurp the rights of SC, ST, and OBC communities?” he remarked.
However, he clarified that he would never pit Hindus against Muslims, but was only highlighting the “misdeeds” of the INDIA bloc.
Modi also targetted Mamata Banerjee for saying that she was part of the opposition alliance, a day after she said she would give them “outside support”.
Saying that the INDIA bloc has “started to scatter like a deck of cards”, the BJP leader remarked that the “Samajwadi prince” had found the refuge of a “new bua (aunt)”. “This new aunt is in West Bengal. And this aunt has told INDI Alliance that I will support you, but from outside,” the PM said.
The reference ‘bua’ was previously used for Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, when she had tied up with Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Mayawati-Akhilesh duo were termed as ‘bua-babua’ in political circles back then. BSP then parted ways with the SP after their mahagathbandhan was defeated by the BJP in the elections.
The PM also said, “Look at the extent of their dreams. One Congress leader said that the people of Raebareli will elect the PM… ye sunte hi Samajwadi shehzade ka dil hi toot gaya, bas aansoon nahi nikle, lekin dil ke saare armaan beh gaye (the Samajwadi shehzada was heartbroken, he did not shed any tears, but his heart’s desires have been shattered.”
He urged voters not to waste their votes on a “ridiculous Khichdi coalition”.
He also spoke about the BJP government’s decision to confer the Padma award on farmer Ramsharan Verma from Barabanki, honouring his contributions.
He said that a “humble gift” of a Gamcha had gained significant popularity, owing to the recognition of indigenous products promoted via initiatives like the UP government’s ODOP mission, which has allowed multiple products in the state to get a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
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