"Congress And Development Cannot Exist Together": PM Modi In Chhattisgarh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accused the Congress of having opposed a tribal becoming President of the country. He said that the policy of the BJP is to ensure the benefit of development and progress to reach every section of society.

"It is the policy of the BJP that every section of society receives the benefit of development and progress. For the first time in history, the BJP decided to make the daughter of a tribal family the President, but Congress opposed it. They carried out propaganda against her. This protest of Congress was not against BJP but against the tribal daughters," PM Modi while addressing the 'Vijay Sankalp' rally in Chhattisgarh's Kanker.

He said his government completed the tasks that seemed impossible nine years ago.

"Modi's guarantee means a guarantee of fulfilment of every guarantee...We have completed the tasks which seemed impossible nine years ago. Modi has also ensured reservations for women in the Lok Sabha and Assembly," he said.

PM Modi accused the Congress government in the state of "corruption" and alleged that its leaders had worked for their own benefit.

"The people of the state and BJP worked together for the formation of Chhattisgarh...Till the time the Congress government ruled they kept fighting with the BJP government here. But we still worked for the development of the state...This election is not just to elect an MLA, or Chief Minister, but it is an election to decide your and your children's future," he said.

PM Modi said there is a huge support for BJP can be seen in Kanker.

"BJP's mission is to strengthen Chhattisgarh's identity. BJP's mission is to protect the rights of tribals and the backwards. BJP's mission is to bring Chhattisgarh into the top states of the country. Congress and development cannot exist together," the Prime Minister said.

"You have seen the failure of the Congress government in the last five years. In these years only Congress leaders and their relatives saw development in their assets as their number of bungalows and cars increased. What did the poor, Dalit, backward, tribal families of Kanker and Bastar get? Congress gave dilapidated roads and poorly conditioned hospitals and schools to the people of Chhattisgarh. Congress set a new record for bribery in the government offices," he added.

He alleged that "Congress and development cannot exist together". He said that concern for the poor is the priority of his government at the Centre.

"We care about both the present and the future. Therefore, the schemes made by the BJP government at the Centre in the last nine years aim for the welfare of the poor...," PM Modi said.

Chhattisgarh will face a two-phased election for its 90 assembly seats. Polling will be held on November 7 and November 17 in the state and counting will be held on December 3.

Four other states apart from Chhattisgarh will face polls this month.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)