4 min readJammuSep 29, 2024 03:31 AM IST
First published on: Sep 28, 2024 at 05:37 PM IST
Attacking Congress for being “fully under the control of urban Naxals and speaking Pakistan’s language on surgical strikes”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Saturday that people of J&K people are looking forward to a government free of “corruption, terrorism and separatism” for peace and a better future for their children.
At a rally at the M A Stadium ahead of the last phase of Assembly elections on October 1, he referred to the 2016 surgical strikes and said, “The terror mentors know that if they do anything wrong, Modi will find them even in ‘Pataal’ (netherworld).”
“The Congress is the biggest party responsible for the loss of generations (to terrorism). From the time of Independence, the party’s wrong policies encouraged inimical forces,” he said, adding that ceasefire violations used to be a routine along the borders in Jammu because “they (Congress) used to show them white flags.”
“The BJP government responded to their bullets with mortar shells to set their mind in the right position. Today is September 28, and you know a surgical strike took place on this day. India sent a message to the world that this is a new India, and it strikes inside their homes,” he said.
Stating that the Congress sought proof after the surgical strike, the PM said, “It is a party that speaks Pakistan’s language on surgical strikes. Will you pardon the Congress for such language? Congress does not respect those who lay down their lives for the nation.”
Alleging that the previous governments discriminated against the Jammu region, he said, “Jammu is the land of temples. Do not waste this opportunity”, and underlined that the huge turnout in the previous two phases “are indicative of the mood of people that they have voted for the BJP.”
From Udhampur, Jammu to Samba and Kathua districts, he said people’s sentiment is, “Jammu ki yehi pukar, aa rahi hai Bhajpa ki sarkar’’ (Jammu is calling, BJP government is coming).
Modi said the decision to transform J&K into a UT is “temporary” and reiterated that “BJP is the only party which will restore statehood to the region.”
“In coming times, Jammu’s development will be further boosted. I want to tell the business community that the coming times will be full of opportunities for them,” he said, adding “our efforts are on to bring more investment to Jammu and set up industry to provide jobs to the local youth in their own districts”.
In a scathing attack, the PM said that the people of J&K have been at “the receiving end of the rule of three families — Congress, NC and PDP — and do not want them back.” “They do not want corruption, discrimination in jobs, terrorism, separatism and bloodshed. Instead, they want peace.”
“This is the same Congress which lied to the Armed Forces, considering that One Rank One Pension (OROP) would be a burden on the treasury,” he said.
“Modi implemented OROP in 2014 immediately after our government was formed. We have recently reviewed OROP, which will bring more money to pensioners,” he said.
Accusing the Congress of being under the “influence of urban Naxals”, the PM said, “When intruders come from outside, they feel good because they see them as a vote bank. But for the problems of our own people, they make fun.”
Calling the Congress, NC and PDP the “biggest enemies” of the Constitution, he alleged that these parties “strangulated” the spirit of B R Ambedkar’s Constitution by “depriving” various sections their right to vote, and not holding panchayat and local bodies polls.
“The BJP honoured the Constitution and gave voting rights to these brothers and sisters — West Pakistani refugees, Gorkhas and Valmikis — who were forced to live as second-class citizens,” he said.
Modi began his address by paying tributes to Maharaja Hari Singh and freedom fighter Bhagat Singh on his birth anniversary.
Modi also paid homage to India's second prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, who was also born on this day. (PTI Photo) 
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