Prime Minister Narendra Modi came down hard on the just-dissolved Congress government in Puducherry on Thursday, stating that its priorities were misplaced and it was busy serving the Congress high command in Delhi.
"In 2016, Puducherry did not get a people's government. The former CM was an expert in lifting slippers of top party leaders but he did not have the interest in lifting people out of poverty," Modi said, addressing a public meeting in the Union territory to launch the BJP's campaign for the ensuing assembly election.
He said Puducherry deserved a government that served the people. "The Congress government did not cooperate to implement pro-people Centre schemes. NDA assures Puducherry people that the May government will be a people-powered one," he said.
Modi said Congress has redefined the colonial ruler's policy of 'divide and rule' into 'divide, lie and rule' and that their leaders would win gold, silver and bronze medals in telling lies. "Sometimes, their leaders pit religion against religion, sometimes community against community. A Congress leader comes here and says we will create a fisheries ministry. I was shocked. The NDA government set up a fisheries ministry in 2019. The budget for the ministry has grown by more than 80% in the just two years," he said, referring to the Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit to Puducherry. Modi then recalled how former CM V Narayanasamy turned a complaint of a woman against him to a compliment while translating it to Rahul Gandhi. " One could see the pain in her eyes and could hear the pain in her voice. He lied to the people and his own leader," Modi said.
He said the party's manifesto will include schemes to make Puducherry the ‘best’. "By best, I mean B for business hub, E for education hub, S for spiritual hub and T for tourism hub.”
He charged that the Congress leaves no opportunity to call others 'antidemocratic' but fails to look at itself. "They refused to hold panchayat polls in Puducherry despite the Supreme Court insisting on it," he said. Modi said people have started rejecting the Congress. "Their (Congress) seats in the Parliament are the lowest ever. The Congress culture of feudal, dynastic and patronage politics has ended. India's young are aspirational and forward-looking," he said.