The prime minister also attacked the Congress for "insulting" 'Shakti' (File)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accused the Congress of making several attempts to stall the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and insulting Lord Ram by rejecting the invitation for the 'pran pratishtha' ceremony.
The prime minister also attacked the Congress for "insulting" 'Shakti'.
Addressing an election rally here, PM Modi said the Congress is immersed in the swamp of appeasement and that "owing to the pressure of appeasement", the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) are opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) as well.
The "INDI alliance of the SP-Congress does not care about India's heritage," the prime minister said.
"The Congress made several efforts so that the Ram temple is not constructed. But when the people of the country made such a beautiful temple by contributing every penny and when the temple people forgave all your (Congress') sins, and invited you for the 'pran pratishtha', you insulted Lord Ram by rejecting the invitation and expelled the leaders, who attended it, for six years," he said.
"Somebody worships Ram and he is expelled from the party. What type of party is it?" he said.
"Every family of the country contributed according to their devotion. The people of Pilibhit also gifted a huge flute to Ayodhya. But the people of INDI alliance had hatred even before the construction of the Ram temple and they have hatred even today," he said.
The BJP has fielded UP minister Jitin Prasada from Pilibhit, replacing sitting MP Varun Gandhi. Neither he nor his mother Maneka Gandhi attended the prime minister's rally.
PM Modi accused the Congress of insulting 'Shakti'.
"Today, the 'Shakti', which is being worshipped in the country, that 'Shakti' has been insulted by the Congress. The 'Shakti' before which we bow our heads, the leaders of the Congress are speaking about uprooting that 'Shakti'. No worshipper of 'Shakti' will forgive the INDI alliance for this insult," he said referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks on 'Shakti'.
He said the manifesto prepared by the Congress seems to be that of the Muslim League rather than that of the Congress.
"Owing to the pressure of appeasement, the Congress and the SP are opposing the CAA as well," he said, asserting that Hindus and Sikhs were compelled to flee from the foreign soil owing to the atrocities committed on them.
He also asked many such families living in Pilibhit to apply for citizenship, and "guaranteed" that "they will permanently be liberated from the problems".
"You will proudly be able to live as a citizen of India," the prime minister said.
"But the Congress and the SP have objections to this as well... What that Congress had done to our Sikh brothers and sisters in 1984, nobody can forget," he said, referring to the anti-Sikh riots.
The BJP stands firmly with the Sikhs, he said, while drawing attention to the BJP government removing 'langar' items from GST, and opening the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor.
The 550th Prakash Parv of Guru Nanak Dev, the 400th Prakash Parv of Guru Teg Bahadur and the 350th Prakash Parv of Guru Gobind Singh were celebrated by the BJP government, he said, and added that the "Congress and its INDI alliance do not feel ashamed in insulting great personalities of the country".
He also slammed the Congress and the SP leaders for not visiting the Statue of Unity to pay tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
"The leaders of the Congress and the SP have time to celebrate holidays in the foreign countries but do not have time to visit the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who united the country and boycott him," he said.
"What can be expected from the INDI alliance, which is conspiring to divide India," PM Modi said.
He said his government is working towards the goal of making a developed India.
Amid the various difficulties being faced by the world now, India is showing that there is nothing impossible for it to achieve, he said, adding this has been possible due to every single vote of the people.
"With your one vote, a strong government, a decisive government and a government which works, was formed. And the BJP government showed to the world that India does not lag behind anyone," he said.
If India is determined, it will definitely achieve any goal, no matter how difficult it is, the prime minister said.
"Today, with this inspiration and energy, we are working towards the resolution of a developed India," he said.
PM Modi said there was a time when the Congress government used to ask for help from the world but during the Covid pandemic, medicines were made available to the whole world from India.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)