PM Modi accuses Cong of instigating people against electoral mandate

Rudrapur (U’khand): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at his first poll rally in this hilly state, saying the “prince’’ of the main opposition party’s “royal family’’ has declared that the country will be on fire if the BJP returns to power.

“They ruled the country for 60 years, but after just 10 years of remaining out of power, they are talking about setting the country on fire,’’ PM Modi said at the rally in Rudrapur, 72 kms from Haldwani town in Nainital district of Kumaon region.

He questioned if this is a “language of democracy’’ and asked the people “chun chun ke saaf kar do, is bar inko maidan mein mat rehne do’’ (pick them one by one and wipe them out from the poll arena). PM Modi blamed the Congress for its “Emergency mindset’’ and said the party no longer believes in democracy. “Therefore, it is busy instigating people against the electoral mandate,’’ he said asking people to wipe it out from everywhere.’’

He was responding to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks at the joint Opposition rally of INDIA bloc in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on Sunday where the Congress leader had accused the BJP and the Prime Minister of “fixing’’ the upcoming Lok Sabha election. Addressing the rally, the Prime Minister said:

“On one side, we are bringing honesty and transparency to the people. On the other, the corrupt and dynasts have ganged up. These corrupt people are abusing and threatening Modi. We are saying remove corruption, they are saying `save the corrupt’.’’

PM Modi pledged to deliver free electricity throughout Uttarakhand should he secure a third term in office.

“In my third term... you will enjoy round-the-clock electricity, with zero bills and even the opportunity to earn from it. I have launched the PM Surya Ghar Free Electricity Scheme,’’ he told the gathering. The Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar Lok Sabha constituency is pivotal in the state’s political landscape.

Encompassing the districts of Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar, it has been the battleground for captivating electoral contests and notable political shifts.

His maiden rally in Uttarakhand’s Kumaon region gains significance as Haldwani town had recently witnessed communal violence on various issues including demolition of a mosque and a madrasa.

The Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar electorate presents a rich tapestry of diversity, encompassing both rural and urban demographics as well as a spectrum of religious affiliations. The division between rural and urban residents stands at 62.8 per cent and 37.2 per cent, respectively, influencing the political narrative.

Additionally, the constituency includes substantial populations of Scheduled Castes- 16.1 per cent and Scheduled Tribes- 5.1 per cent, alongside a predominant Hindu demographic of 80 per cent, followed by Muslim 15 per cent and Sikh 5 per cent communities. It was apt that the PM began his speech by describing Uttarakhand a ‘mini India’.