Bardhaman (West Bengal): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that fear of defeat in Wayanad led Rahul Gandhi to contest from Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli seat.
Addressing a rally in the Bardhaman-Durgapur Lok Sabha seat, Modi once again called Gandhi the 'shehzada' (prince) of Congress. “The shehzada, who went to Wayanad after losing the Amethi seat, is also contesting from Rae Bareli. He knows he would lose Wayanad this time,” Modi said.
He claimed that the Congress' tally in the Lok Sabha polls will be an all-time low and said that if voted to power, the party would snatch quotas meant for the Scheduled Caste, Dalits and OBCs and give those to its 'jihadi vote bank' to pursue the party's appeasement politics.
Modi also slammed the opposition bloc INDIA and the Congress for supporting the "vote jihad" comments made by a candidate of the Samajwadi Party (SP), an ally of the grand old party in Uttar Pradesh.
“There is no need for opinion polls or exit polls, as I had talked about their (Congress) defeat long back in Parliament. When their senior leader quit her Lok Sabha seat and entered Parliament through Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, it was evident that they sensed defeat,” Modi said, in an apparent dig at Sonia Gandhi.
The prime minister challenged the Congress to give in writing that it would not amend the Constitution to provide reservations based on religion. They “(The Congress and INDIA bloc) have to give a written statement that they will not take away the reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs and give those to their vote bank based on religion,” Modi said.
He also came down heavily on the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal, alleging that the party has made Hindus "second-class citizens" in the state.
(With PTI inputs)
