Kicking off his campaign in West Bengal, the PM says the parties are trying to break the morale of the security forces
A supporter of the BJP wears a mask of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they take a selfie at a campaign rally ahead of the national elections in Siliguri on Wednesday. Pic/AFP
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday accused the Congress and the Trinamool Congress of being sympathisers of Pakistan who wanted to "break the morale" of India's security forces and make them "helpless" in the fight against terror.
Kicking off his campaign for the Lok Sabha election in West Bengal with rallies in Siliguri and Kolkata, Modi also trained his guns on TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, calling her the "speedbreaker" in the path of the state's development who wanted poverty to stay so her "politics of poverty" can flourish.
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Attacking the Congress, the prime minister said the actual age of democracy in India was barely 15-16 years as "family rule stifled talent and spread the poison of casteism" in society.
Narendra Modi
"I saw this sham manifesto (dhakosla patra) released by the Congress. It is meant to break the morale of our security forces. It promises removing AFSPA from disturbed areas like Kashmir. This is an attempt to render our brave soldiers helpless in the fight against terror, have their hands and feet tied," Modi told an election rally in the north Bengal town of Siliguri. He accused the Congress of being "soft" on terror because of its "appeasement" politics, which was reflected in its governments scrapping tough anti-terror laws like TADA and POTA.
"We too scrapped over 1,400 obsolete laws from statute books. We have also withdrawn the AFSPA from some areas after peace returned there. The Congress' election promise will help those peddling terror from Pakistan," he said in Kolkata, accusing the Congress of "playing with national security and trying to destabilise the country".
Cong fields Chavda against Amit Shah
The Congress has fielded its MLA C J Chavda against BJP President Amit Shah from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat. The Opposition party released a list of names on Tuesday night in which it mentioned four more candidates from the state, including Chavda. With this, the Congress has so far declared 18 candidates in Gujarat, where the last date of filing nominations is April 4.
BJP announces nominees for LS election
The BJP announced its nominees for the LS polls against key Opposition leaders like Sonia Gandhi of the Congress and Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav. The BJP has pitted Bhojpuri actor and singer Dinesh Lal Yadav against Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav from Azamgarh. It has fielded Prem Singh Shakya against Yadav's father Mulayam Singh Yadav from Mainpuri. The party has named Dinesh Pratap Singh, a local strongman, against Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli.
Rs 1.8 crore found in Arunachal CM's convoy
The Congress on Wednesday alleged that a "cash-for-votes" scam was busted in Arunachal Pradesh with the recovery of Rs 1.8 crore in cash from Chief Minister Pema Khandu's convoy and asked the poll panel to register a case against Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as the chief minister and his deputy. Accusing the BJP of using "money power" to woo voters in the northeast, Congress Chief Spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Rs 1.8 crore was allegedly recovered from the chief minister's convoy in Pasighat around midnight, hours before Modi was to address a rally there on Wednesday morning.
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