‘They spread vote bank ka virus’: PM Modi targets Congress for opposing Waqf law

The prime minister subsequently highlighted his government’s achievements at the Centre and in Haryana while inaugurating other projects for Haryana. Addressing a rally in Yamunanagar, he continued his attack on the Congress.

In the morning, Modi flagged off first direct commercial flight from Maharaja Agrasen Airport to Ayodhya and laid the foundation stone for the new terminal at the airport. Later in the day, the PM laid the foundation stone for an 800MW thermal power plant in Yamunagar and a bypass in Rewari, besides several other development projects.

“Our government, within six-seven years, provided potable water facility in over 12 crore households. Today, 80 per cent of rural households are getting tap water supply. It is the blessing of Babasaheb that we will provide tap water facility to each and every household,” Modi said in Hisar.

President Droupadi Murmu with V-P Jagdeep Dhankhar, PM Narendra Modi, BJP’s J P Nadda, Congress’s Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi at a function to pay tribute to B R Ambedkar, in Parliament on Monday. (Express photo by Anil Sharma)

“The condition of SC, ST, OBC communities was the worst. Our government got over 11 crore toilets constructed and provided relief to the deprived ones. During the Congress’s tenure, bank doors did not open for SC,ST, OBC. Insurance, loan and help were all dreams for them. But now, the biggest beneficiaries of the Jan Dhan Yojana are SC,ST, OBC brothers and sisters. Our SC,ST,OBC brothers sisters proudly take out RuPay cards out of their pockets today,” he said.

“The Congress treated SC,ST,OBCs as second-class citizens in this country. While Congress leaders enjoyed luxuries like swimming pools, only 16 out of every 100 households in villages had access to piped water and among those affected the most were SCs, STs, and OBCs. In just six to seven years, our government provided water connections to over 12 crore rural households. Now, 80 out of every 100 rural homes have access to clean water, and we are committed to taking that number to 100 per cent,” he said.

Continuing his attack on the Congress, the PM said, “The Congress has made our pious Constitution a weapon to gain power. Whenever they got a chance, they crushed the Constitution. Congress, during the Emergency, crushed the spirit of Constitution to stay in power. It is the essence of the Constitution that everybody should have an equal citizenship, which I call a secular civil code. But the Congress never implemented it. In Uttarakhand, after the BJP government came to power, a secular civil code was implemented.”

Talking about Waqf, Modi said, “There are lakhs of hectares of land in the name of waqf. If benefits from waqf properties had been given to the needy, it would have benefited them. But only land mafia benefited from these properties.”

“With the change in the waqf law, the looting of land will also stop under the new amendments. The looting of the poor will stop with this amended waqf law. Under the new waqf law, land or property belonging to any Adivasi cannot be touched by the Waqf Board. Poor Muslims and Pasmanda Muslims will get their rights. This is real social justice,” he said recalling the time when the Congress fought elections against Ambedkar.

“We should not forget what the Congress did to Babasaheb. The Congress humiliated him while he was alive. They made him lose elections twice. The Congress even tried to erasehis memory. The Congress tried to destroy Babasaheb’s ideas forever. Dr Ambedkar was the protector of the Constitution, but the Congress has become the destroyer of the Constitution,” he added.

In Yamunanagar, the PM recalled his old association with Haryana. “I have many memories from Haryana and Hisar. When the BJP gave me the responsibility of Haryana, I worked with many colleagues here for a long time. The hard work of all these colleagues has strengthened the foundation of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Haryana. Today, I feel proud to see that the BJP is working seriously towards developed Haryana and developed India,” he said.

In Yamunanagar, the PM also said people were facing difficulties in Congress-ruled states, referring to social media articles about increase in taxes in Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh.

“Yesterday, we celebrated Baisakhi, but yesterday also marked the Jallianwalah Bagh massacre’s 106th anniversary. We still have memories of the Jallianwalah massacre. There is another aspect to it, which was thrown in darkness. This aspect is “manavta ke saath, desh ke saath khade hone ka buland jazbe ka. Is jazbe ka naam hai Sankaran Nair. Nobody would have heard of him. He was a renowned lawyer and in those days, he held a very big post in the British era. He could have enjoyed all the luxuries, but inspired by Jallianwalah Bagh, he raised his voice against British atrocities. He was kicked out of his post. He was from Kerala and the incident took place in Punjab. He fought on his own. Sankaran Nair took them (the British) to court.

“It is not only an example of standing with the humanity, it shows unity of the country too. A man from far-flung Kerala fought with Britishers over an incident that took place in Punjab. This inspiration, today too, is our immense strength. We should definitely learn from Sankaran Nair,” Modi said in Yamunanagar.

C Sankaran Nair resigned from the Viceroy’s Council in the aftermath of the Jallianwalah Bagh massacre on April 13, 1919. Later he was a councillor to the Secretary of State for India (in London, 1920-21) and a member of the Indian Council of State (from 1925).