Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing Election rally at Gohana in Haryana on Saturday. (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said his dhakad (strong) government brought down the wall of Article 370 and catapulted Kashmir on the path of development. He also said Pakistan harassed India for the past 70 years, but “now has a begging bowl in its hands”.
Addressing his first poll rally in Haryana in support of BJP candidates for the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, PM Modi said the Congress and its partners in the INDIA Bloc have drawn a blank in the first four phases of polling.
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The prime minister said: “When a country has a strong government, the enemy too thinks 100 times before doing anything. Pakistan… has been harassing India for the past 70 years… (Pakistan) earlier had bombs in its hands, now has a ‘bheekh ka katora’ (begging bowl) in its hands. When there is a strong government, the enemy is terrified.”
PM Modi then asked the crowd: “Could a weak government have changed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir?”
Referring to the terrorist activities in the past, Modi said, “Remember those times when there was a Congress government and the brave mothers of Haryana used to worry day and night.”
“Today 10 years have passed, whether everything has stopped or not?” he asked the gathering which said, “Yes, yes”.
Blaming the Congress for committing the first scam in the Army, Modi alleged that it has been the history of the Congress to betray the Armed forces and soldiers.
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In an attempt to woo the farmers, Modi claimed that his government in the past 10 years procured foodgrains worth Rs 20 lakh crore – which is three times more than the procurement of Rs 7.5 lakh crore made during the Congress-led UPA government’s 10-year period.
Earlier, it used to take months to pay the farmers but now the payment for government procurement goes directly to the accounts of the farmers, he added.
All 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana will go to the polls on May 25.