Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nov 14: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the Congress and its allies are hatching a scheme to have a separate Constitution for Kashmir, and making all efforts for restoration of Article 370.
“Will the people of Maharashtra support the Congress and its allies who speak the language of Pakistan,” Modi said, addressing a rally in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar for the November 20 state assembly elections.
“Kashmir is an integral part of India. Every Indian wants that there should be only Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution in Kashmir,” Modi said.
Modi also said the BJP-led Mahayuti government renamed Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and fulfilled the wish of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray.
“The whole of Maharashtra knows that the demand to rename this city as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar was raised by Balasaheb Thackeray,” he said. The Congress party went to the court to overturn this decision, he added.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi government was in power for two-and-a-half years but did not have the courage to rename the city under pressure from the Congress, he said.
“This election in Maharashtra is not just an election to elect a new government. In this election, on one side some patriots believe in Sambhaji Maharaj, and on the other side some people praise Aurangzeb,” Modi said.
“BJP-Mahayuti ahe, tar gati ahe, Maharashtrachi pragati ahe (If there is Mahayuti there is progress in Maharashtra),” Modi said.
The people of Maharashtra and Marathwada had been demanding for decades to give classical language status to Marathi, Modi said. This work related to Marathi pride was completed by the BJP, he added.
“Maharashtra has attracted the maximum FDI after the formation of the Mahayuti government. The people have benefited due to the investment,” he said.
On Wednesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, will not be restored even if Congress stalwart and late PM Indira Gandhi comes down from heaven.
Addressing a rally at Dhule in North Maharashtra, Shah said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should remember that even if his “fourth generation was to come”, Muslims won’t get reservations meant for Dalits, tribals, and other backward castes.
“A few days ago, Ulemas (Muslim scholars) met the president of Congress party and said Muslims should be given reservation (in jobs and education). If reservation has to be given to Muslims, then reservations for SCs/STs/OBCs will have to be cut. Rahul Baba, not only you but even if your four generations were to come, they cannot cut the quota meant for SCs/STs/OBCs and give it to Muslims,” Shah insisted.
The Union minister made it clear that Article 370, scrapped in 2019 by the BJP-led central government, won’t be restored under any circumstances.
“Even if Indira Gandhi were to return from heaven, Article 370 won’t be restored,” the BJP stalwart told the gathering.
Targeting Gandhi, the Lok Sabha MP from Raebareli, he accused his party of making false promises and misleading people.
“Recently, Rahul Gandhi was seen waving a copy of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution. He used the same copy while taking the oath in Parliament. When some journalists got their hands on the very copy, it had blank pages. By showing a fake Constitution, Rahul broke the trust of the people and insulted Babasaheb. You have never read the Constitution, Rahul Baba,” Shah said.
The “Sonia-Manmohan regime” didn’t act against Naxalism and terrorism for 10 years (2004-14) due to vote bank politics, the home minister opined.
“The entire Congress politics runs on deception. They are saying that after the formation of the Mahayuti government (in June 2022), investment in Maharashtra has reduced. The truth is after the formation of the government of (CM) Eknath Shinde and (deputy CM) Devendra Fadnavis, our Maharashtra is the No.1 state in FDI inflows in India,” he said.
A Mahayuti government post-polls will work more for the welfare of women, farmers, and other sections of society, Shah maintained.
“Your one vote will not only form a Mahayuti government but your one vote will also deposit ₹ 2,100 in the account of Maharashtra’s beloved sisters. Your one vote will result in depositing ₹ 15,000 instead of ₹ 12,000 annually in farmers’ accounts,” he said.
The BJP leader said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guarantee is like ‘patthar ki lakeer’ (carved in stone), whereas the Congress reneged on pre-poll promises in Telangana, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh after coming to power in these states.
Targeting NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar, Shah said the senior politician served as Maharashtra CM and also as a Union minister for many years, but did not do anything to give classical language status to Marathi.
At his third rally at Jintur in Parbhani district in the Marathwada region, Shah averred that Congress MP Gandhi, who has been campaigning for the MVA in Maharashtra, will fail once again.
“Sonia ji tried to land the plane named Rahul Baba 20 times and 20 times the plane crashed. Now again, an attempt is being made to land the plane for the 21st time in Maharashtra. Sonia ji, your “Rahul plane” is going to crash for the 21st time,” the BJP leader opined.
Shah accused the Congress of deliberately stalling construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya for years.
“PM Modi built the Ram temple and also constructed the Kashi Vishwanath corridor (in Varanasi) which was demolished by (Mughal emperor) Aurangzeb. Now, you should be ready to visit Gujarat as the Somnath temple is also being made of gold,” he told the gathering.
