POLL campaigning has picked up pace in the region with Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing two public meetings in Vidarbha within a couple of days. After the rally in Chandrapur on Monday, Narendra Modi addressed a huge public rally at Kanhan in Nagpur district on Wednesday. Launching a scathing attack on Congress and INDI Alliance’s argument that his Government would change the Constitution, Modi said, “The Opposition has no agenda. They are expressing this fear since long. They said the same thing when Atal Behari Vajpayee had formed Government. In fact, during their 60-year rule, the Congress has never respected the Constitution, not even implemented 70 per cent of it. It is National Democratic Alliance (NDA) that has shown 100 per cent allegiance to the Constitution and followed it to the T.” Modi went on to say, “During their regime they did not even think of honouring Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar with Bharat Ratna which our Government did now. Their allegation is baseless.” The PM’s speech at Kanhan’s Brooke Bond ground was often punctuated by chants of “Modi Modi” from the gathered crowd. The rally was organised in favour of party candidates Nitin Gadkari and Sunil Mendhe from Nagpur and Bhandara-Gondia constituencies respectively as well as Raju Parve, Shiv Sena (Shinde) candidate in Ramtek.

 

 

 

Modi further said, “The Congress claims that democracy is in trouble. Did the Congress not insult democracy during Emergency?” The Prime Minister dared the opponents to prove that his Government had twisted the Constitution in last 10 years. “They (Opposition parties) could not tolerate that the son of a poor family became the Prime Minister. Congress has been conspiring to keep SCs, STs and OBCs away from development and tried to finish the legacy of Dr Ambedkar,” said Modi without mincing words. He further claimed that when NDA made daughter of a tribal family the President of India, the INDI Alliance did not like it. “No one can negate the fact that we made people from OBC communities ministers in record numbers. We gave constitutional status to OBC Commission. NDA Government even created a separate Tribal Ministry,” he pointed out. “When Article 370 was abrogated in Kashmir, the Congress party questioned what was its relevance to other States? The fact is that, because of that move of ours, all categories got constitutional rights in Kashmir. My SC/ST brethren did not have reservation in Kashmir. The Congress party opposed Citizens Amendment Act (CAA). They are aware of the fact that Dalit and Bouddha are the real beneficiaries of CAA,” Modi said.