Mallikarjun Kharge and PM Narendra Modi.
Credit: PTI File Photos
Mumbai: As the assembly polls nears, campaigning is gaining momentum in Maharashtra.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated the 'ek hai toh safe hai' narrative even as Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge slammed BJP's top leaders for making provocative speeches.
While Modi addressed rallies in Akola and Nanded, Kharge was in Nagpur and Amravati.
Modi accused the Congress of dividing the society, caste and communities. “During the entire period that Congress ruled over India, “Congress has always resorted to divide and rule. It created rifts within the SC-Dalits, ST-Adivasis and OBCs. For a safe and united Maharashtra, choose BJP-led Maha Yuti…ek hai toh safe hai,” Modi said.
“Congress knows the more the country is divided the more it gains. That's why it has practised the policy of dividing castes....mazboot Congress equals majboor Bharat (strong Congress means helpless India),” Modi said.
Giving the example of Haryana, where the BJP defeated the Congress against all odds, Modi said, “I congratulate the people of Haryana for following the policy of ‘ek hai to safe hai’ and defeating the Congress. Haryana was the first to do so. Maharashtra should follow suit,” he said.
Kharge slammed Modi for the ‘ek hai to safe hai’ narrative and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for ‘batange to katange’.
Kharge stressed that many big Congress have laid down their lives to unite the country and attacked the BJP, saying, “You only divide but blame others. You say ‘batenge toh katenge’. Those who want the country to remain united will never pass such divisive slogans.”
“The truth is that you are the ones who divide and you are the ones who cut, but you blame others. You are involved in baatna and kaatna,” he said.
Modi and Kharge locked horns over the red-coloured pocket Constitution and Dr Ambedkar.
“Is it a crime to flaunt a copy of the Constitution with a red cover,” Kharge said, referring to Fadnavis’s earlier allegation that Gandhi was building a coalition of anarchists. In many public meetings, Gandhi waived a copy of the Constitution with a red cover – in politics, red is often associated with the Marxist or communist ideology. At the press conference, Kharge showed a picture of PM Modi gifting a similar copy to former president Ramnath Kovind.
Modi accused Congress of wanting to implement its own Constitution instead of the one drafted by Dr B R Ambedkar. The first time Congress did this was during the Emergency, and now it was doing the same thing by distributing blank Constitution copies, he claimed. Congress betrayed the Constitution by not implementing it in Jammu and Kashmir, the prime minister said.
"The Jammu and Kashmir Constitution was different, and (the state) had a separate flag. There were no rights for Dalits. In Kashmir, Congress supported two Constitutions and in Maharashtra, they talk of Ambedkar's Constitution," he said.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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