Calls Cong. ‘Muslim League–Maoist Combo’ after Bihar win
New Delhi, Surat, Dediapada, Surat (Gujarat): Continuing his attack on the Opposition, particularly the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the people of Bihar had rejected those who "spewed the poison of casteism" as well as the Congress, which he described as a "Muslim League-Maoist combination."
Modi, who reached his home state Gujarat a day after the NDA's sweeping victory in Bihar, also took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying the party's nationalist leaders who had worked with former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were disheartened by the "stunts of the naamdar."
The Prime Minister was speaking at a felicitation programme organised by people from Bihar living in Surat to mark the NDA's victory. Earlier in the day, he prayed at the Devmogra Mata temple for the nation's well-being, held a roadshow in Narmada, paid floral tribute to tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda, reviewed the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project in Surat, and dedicated projects worth more than ?9,700 crore.
"People have rejected the 'Muslim League-Maoist Congress' (MMC) party. The nationalist leaders in that party who worked with Indira-ji and Rajiv-ji are sad because of the stunts of the naamdar (Rahul Gandhi)… They cannot explain the poll rout to their allies or even to their own workers. They have found an easy way out by blaming EVMs, the Election Commission and electoral roll revisions," Modi said. He added that the Bihar election results showed people had rejected those spreading caste divisions.
The Prime Minister also pointed out that the NDA won 34 of 38 seats reserved for Dalits, stressing that Dalit voters, too, had rejected the Congress.
Earlier, speaking at Dediapada in Narmada district to mark the birth anniversary of tribal icon Bhagwan Birsa Munda on Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, Modi said the tribal community's contribution to India's freedom struggle was immense, but the Congress had failed to recognise it and neglected tribal welfare during its 60-year rule.
He said the contribution of tribal freedom fighters was ignored so that credit could go to "a few families."
Before his speech, the Prime Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of infrastructure and development projects worth more than ?9,700 crore.
"Whenever the nation's honour, self-respect and freedom were challenged, our tribal community stood at the forefront. Our freedom struggle is the greatest example. Numerous freedom fighters emerged from the tribal community and carried forward the torch of freedom," Modi said.
Citing Gujarat's tribal freedom fighters such as Govind Guru, Rupsingh Nayak and Motilal Tejawat, the Prime Minister said countless chapters of India's freedom movement showcase tribal pride and valour.
"Tribals are also connected with Lord Ram since that era. But those who ruled for six decades did not feel the need to work for such a large tribal population. Tribal welfare has been the BJP's top priority, and we are committed to ending this injustice," he said.
Modi added that it was former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who created a separate ministry for tribal affairs at the Centre. "But when the Congress returned to power after Vajpayee, they neglected the tribal community for the next 10 years," he alleged.
The Prime Minister also witnessed the Grih Pravesh ceremony for 1,00,000 houses built under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) and Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA-JAGUA).
He inaugurated 42 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) for tribal students built at a cost of around ?1,900 crore; 228 Multi-Purpose Centres for community-led activities; a Centre of Competence at Assam Medical College in Dibrugarh; and a Tribal Research Institute building in Imphal for the preservation of tribal culture and heritage.
In addition, Modi flagged off 250 buses for 14 tribal districts of Gujarat, laid the foundation stone for 748 km of new roads in tribal areas and 14 Tribal Multi-Marketing Centres under DA-JAGUA, and also laid the foundation stone for 50 new EMRS schools to be constructed at a cost of more than ?2,320 crore.
