New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi upped the ante he built over Sunday in his twin rallies in Maharashtra on the issue of scrapping Kashmir's special status in his Haryana rally on Monday and dared the Opposition to reverse his decision. Both the states will see Assembly elections on October 21.
From Kashmir to Rafale and Tejas, Modi delivered a speech underlining his party’s commitment to national security. A large section of Haryana’s population is known for its contribution to the armed forces that stands roughly at 9 per cent.
Throwing a gauntlet at the Congress on the issue of Article 370 that granted special status to Kashmir, Modi said that if the grand old party had issues with the BJP government’s move so much so that it was going to foreign countries to seek help on the issue, then it should tell people that if it came to power, it would reverse this decision.
“If such people have so much problem with our scrapping of articles 370 and 35A, then let me challenge them — go to people of Haryana and say if you win, you'll restore the articles if you come to power. Do they have such courage? They also know Modi was able to decide on articles 370 and 35A because he got so much love from people. I want to say go to Haryana's villages... go to mothers who have lost their sons in Kashmir, to young wives, little children, and tell them your opinion on Article 370," Modi said in his rally.
He also highlighted the scheduled arrival of Rafale fighter jets as a moment of pride for national security a day after former Congress president Rahul Gandhi renewed his attack on the Prime Minister over the issue.
"Remember what they said about the Rafale deal in the Lok Sabha? What pandemonium they created? How they beat their chests? They tried their best to ensure that the Rafale jet deal gets scrapped, but today I'm happy that despite their best efforts, India has been handed over its first jet. The BJP is not just committed to national security, we are giving our best to bolster national security," he said in Bhallabhgarh.
On Sunday, while addressing a rally in Mumbai, Rahul Gandhi had said the "whole country knows there was corruption in the Rafale deal, people from the defence ministry wrote clearly that the PM is interfering in the deal and that is why there is guilt. The name Rafale hurts and that is why (Defence Minister) Rajnath Singh went to France to bring the aircrafts.” He also hit out at the PM saying the latter hadn't kept his promise of delivering 2 crore jobs a year.
On Monday, Modi continued his attack on the Congress on the theme of national security, specifically on fighter jets, when he said the Congress had come close to binning India's indigenous fighter jet, the Tejas.
“For reasons best known to them, the Congress came close to shelving the whole project. When we came to power, we gave it new wings. Today, it is the pride of the Indian Air Force. We have new missile defence systems, missiles in space, bullet-proof jackets… we are working on strengthening our soldiers," Modi said.
Recalling the Balakot strikes conducted by the Army to destroy terror launch pads in February, Modi said, “Surgical strikes yaad hai na? Balakote yaad kijiye... humne aatankiyon ko ghar mein ghuske maara (Remember the surgical strikes? Remember Balakot... we went inside the den of terrorists and finished them off).”
Regarding retired soldiers’ pension, Modi said his government had delivered on the promise of ‘One Rank One Pension’ by allotting Rs 900 crore for Haryana alone.
Further, he said the BJP had delivered on the issue of triple talaq. He said though only a miniscule percentage of Muslim men may have opted for the practice, it caused much damage by letting other Muslim men consider this option of parting with their wives.
“The Muslim man who was concerned for his sister or daughter supported the BJP in this drive against a social evil," Modi said, while recounted various other social schemes of his government. He said the first beneficiaries of schemes like Ayushman Bharat were from Haryana.
Meanwhile, BJP working president JP Nadda, while delivering a speech in Maharashtra, talked about the achievements India had made under Modi's leadership in international diplomacy. "Remember that India has taken the centrestage in international diplomacy under the Prime Minister. It is he who had ensured that Pakistan is now totally isolated in the global community."
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