Congress strategy is to divide people, they oppose for the sake of it: PM Modi

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called into question the secular credentials of the Congress and said the party relied on divisive politics in its quest for power.

"Congress strategy is to divide people - divide people on lines of caste, community, urban-rural...all this just for power," PM Modi said during a public rally in Bharuch, Gujarat.


The Prime Minister then justified his 'dislike' for Congress politics - the party's strident opposition to the NDA government's policy decisions devised for the development and welfare of the country and people.

"My problem with Congress politics is simple - they oppose us just for the sake of opposing. They oppose things like bullet train only because they could not take this initiative forward and are envious someone else is," he said.



Referring to the results of the Uttar Pradesh civic polls, PM Modi said the people were fully aware of Congress party's corruption and incompetency and were paying the party back for its false and broken promises.

"In Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress ruled for decades, the state from where generations of top Congress leaders belong...we saw what happened there in the local elections. Congress was wiped out. UP knows the Congress well and so does Gujarat," PM Modi said.



The Congress had a dismal show in the UP civic polls and suffered a bitter defeat in its stronghold of Amethi, while the BJP swept 14 of the 16 mayoral seats in the state. Political experts opine that the Congress party's rout in UP would have a significant impact in the mindset of voters in Gujarat, where the first phase of polling begins on December 9.

In contrast to the Congress party's electoral flop, PM Modi hailed the BJP's performance in Gujarat, highlighting the many develoment wins - like the Sardar Sarovar Dam and Ro-Ro ferry service - the party has scored during its 22 years in power.

"Do you remember the poor law and order situation in Bharuch when Congress was in power? Curfews and violence was common here. Bharuch and Kutch are districts with significant Muslim populations. And, if you see the districts which developed rapidly under the BJP tenure in Gujarat, the names of these two districts figure prominently," he said.



Echoing a similar sentiment, finance minister Arun Jaitley said the Gujarat polls were increasingly becoming a contest between development,political stability on one hand and an opportunist alliance, anarchy on the other.

"Congress here has no leadership, it has mortgaged its leadership to such forces which are only dividing the state on caste lines," Jailtey said, alluding to the Congress party's alliance with Patidar leader Hardik Patel and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani.



"BJP track record of 22 years is of providing excellent governance," Jaitley added.

PM Modi is on a two-day sojourn in his home state Gujarat, where he is slated to address seven 'Vikas Rallies' to stress on the ruling BJP's development plank.

Polling for the 182-member Gujarat assembly will be held in two phases on December 9 and 14. The counting of votes will take place on December 18.