Modi pitches for 'Congress free' India in grand old party's bastion in K'taka

Davangere (Karnataka): Highlighting the achievements of the NDA regime ever since it came to power in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said not only the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but the entire nation wants to be free from the clutches of the Congress Party.

During his address at 'Vikasparv rally' here, Prime Minister Modi said the entire nation is now pitching for a 'Congress free India'.

"The last time I had come to Davangere, I had promised development. Now, Davangere is set to become a smart city. When people like you give me so much love and affection, there is no need for me to walk on the wrong path," he added.

Read: Modi govt goes all out showcasing achievements at 2-year bash

In an apparent reply those questioning his government's performance, Modi said his two-year dispensation had initiated over 700 schemes and even if some tasks remain undone, "I will not let the nation go on the wrong path".

He asserted that he would "never go on the path of sins" as he charged that the previous government had "yielded" to pressure from various lobbies, including diesel and petrol ones.

Slamming the critics who "started questioning his work" even when he had not seen my office properly, Modi said his government's programmes are mostly for the benefit of farmers and poor people, besides ending the role of middlemen, including in jobs.

"My government had not completed even one week in office and some people started questioning its work. We were asked to give account. There are some people in this country who talk of democracy but don't believe in the government elected by the people. They cannot digest (NDA coming to power). They wonder where from I came. I have come from this land, from among you," he said.

The Prime Minister said it is for the first that states have begun to feel the Centre is not only willing to listen to their problems but also ready to walk with them shoulder-to-shoulder.

He also asserted that the ruling dispensation at the Centre is striving hard to eliminate middle-men as they take away the benefits of the schemes launched by the government for the poor.

"But my government has also taken the decision to make India 'middlemen' free. People criticize me for not doing 'big things'. The previous governments did big things for big people and took advantage," he said.

"I was surprised that people in the country were burdened with many redundant laws. My government had removed over 1200 such laws," he added.