Ahead of the third phase of assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed an election rally in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday.
He began his speech congratulating ISRO scientists for accomplishing historic feat by launching 104 satellites at a go and then went on to criticise the SP-Congress alliance.
Here are the highlights:
- Launching an attack on the UP goverment, he said, ”The first responsibility of the Government is to work for the poor, the Dalits, the marginalised, the underprivileged. The Government allocates resources to feed the poor but the UP government does not have any keenness to feed the poor. Sadly the Government in UP is against the empowerment of the poor.”
- Accusing the UP government of corruption, he said, ”I do not own a single car but these people who call themselves socialists, see the expensive cars they have.”
- He said Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav does not know how “cunning Congress people are” and reminded him about an “assassination attempt” made on his father Mulayam Singh Yadav in 1984 allegedly by a Congress leader.
- Modi also attacked the opposition for creating hue and cry over demonetisation and levelling all kinds of allegations against him, saying “lies will not work as the people of the country are quite aware now”.
- Severely critical of Akhilesh for entering into the alliance with Congress, he said, “A film is being played on the political stage of Uttar Pradesh in which the opponents, who had attacked each other with slogans such as ’27 saal UP behal’ and taken out yatras in the first half, have turned friends after interval and have embraced each other.”
- He said Samajwadi Party and Congress were campaigning against each other before the announcement of polls “but came together after the interval to enter into the alliance for the elections.”
- Reaching out to voters in Kannauj which falls in the Lok Sabha constituency represented by Akhilesh’s wife Dimple Yadav, Modi said, “SP-Cong tie up will shatter your dreams.”
- Further taking a dig at Dimple Yadav, he said, “The Kannauj MP had promised to set up a factory for potato chip in the last election. Did you get the factory? Won’t you question such leader?”
- The PM then targeted Rahul Gandhi and said, “There is one leader in Congress who doesn’t even know whether potatoes are produced in a factory or on farmland. In a speech, he had talked of setting up of a potato factory. You understand it, but he doesn’t.”
- Criticising the law and order in the state, he said, ‘What is ‘UP’ in Uttar Pradesh are crime rates, migration of youth for jobs, corruption, riots, poverty, mortality rate, school dropouts.’
- For Uttar Pradesh’s growth and development, BJP is the only ray of hope. I’m able to fight against black money & corruption due to the blessings of 125 crore Indians, he said.
Here’s the whole speech: