Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday slammed the Congress for tying up with the minority-based All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and said the grand alliance led by the grand old party was ‘Mahajhoot’ (huge lie) rather than ‘Mahajot’.
He warned of the “sinister designs” of the Congress and its prime ally while addressing BJP rallies at Bihpuria in north-eastern Assam and Sipajhar near Guwahati.
“I have come here to awaken you. The Congress today is with a force whose foundation is based on the principle of destroying Assam’s identity. Will you allow your culture and tradition to be destroyed?” Mr. Modi asked the crowd at Bihpuria in Lakhimpur district.
He said the Congress was focussed on capturing power with the vote bank of a party that had prospered because of infiltration. “The Congress can do anything for votes. It can join anybody or betray anybody, if required. The Congress is in a friendship with the Left in Assam but wrestling with it in Kerala,” he added.
“This is not a Congress Mahajot. This is a Congress Mahajhoot. It has neither philosophy nor culture, neither ‘neta’ [leader] nor ‘niti’ [policy]. This ‘jot’ [grand alliance] guarantees only infiltration and loot,” the Prime Minister said.
He accused the Congress of giving away the land of satras (Vaishnavite monasteries) and namghars (community prayer halls) to encroachers when it was in power.
“They did not even spare Batadrava Thaan [birthplace of saint-reformer Srimanta Sankaradeva who founded the satra institution]. The Congress did nothing to protect these sacred places because it was interested only in saving power. I congratulate the Assam government for ridding many satras of encroachment in the last five years,” Mr. Modi said.
The Prime Minister also praised the Sarbananda Sonowal-led government for freeing the Kaziranga National Park, Assam’s pride, from Congress-patronised “infiltrators”.
“Today, when Assam is getting freedom from violence, terror, infiltration and encroachment, when the bridge of development is being built, the bridge of belief is being strengthened and the bridge of spirituality is taking us to greater heights, Assam has to be very cautious,” he said.
Tea workers
The biggest victims of the Congress betrayal were the tea plantation workers, Mr. Modi said. Ridiculing the Congress for lofty guarantees, he said the party could not enhance their daily wage beyond ₹100 during the 15 years it was in power in Assam.
“The NDA has doubled the daily wage in the past five years,” he said.
At Sipajhar in Darrang district, the Prime Minister alluded to the Patharughat massacre of January 28, 1894. The British forces had killed some 140 peasants for protesting against high land taxes.
“Patharughat is an important part of India’s independence. I salute those martyrs and this land as we celebrate 75 years of freedom,” he said.