"Congress Stands For Nepotism, Casteism": PM's Final Pitch For Haryana Polls

Upping the ante against the Congress less than two hours before campaigning ended for the Haryana Assembly elections, which will be held in two days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the party stands for corruption, casteism, communalism and nepotism.

In a series of tweets on X on Thursday, Prime Minister Modi said that he has travelled across Haryana in the last few days and the people's enthusiasm has given him confidence that they will elect the BJP for a third straight term and not accept the "divisive and negative" politics of the Congress.

Arguing that the BJP, which has been in power in the state since 2014, has worked towards making the lives of the people of Haryana prosperous and focused on the welfare of all sections, the PM pointed to the "failure" of Congress governments in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka. 

"The people of Haryana know that the Congress means a guarantee of corruption, casteism, communalism and nepotism. The basic objective of the politics of father and son ('bapu-bete ki rajneeti') is only selfishness... Today, people are also seeing the failure of Congress governments from Himachal to Karnataka. The policies of the Congress destroy people and that is why the people of Haryana do not want the party at all," he wrote in Hindi.

Taking aim at the alleged infighting within the Congress, the PM said this is happening at a time when it is in the opposition in the state and proves that the party can never give Haryana a stable government. 

He also took a dig at Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi - without naming him - and said that Congress leaders have spoken about ending reservation. The jibe was seen as a reference to Mr Gandhi's comments during a trip to the US last month, when he had said that the Congress would "think of ending reservation when India is a fair place". The Congress leader later said the remarks were misunderstood and insisted that his party would take the quota limit beyond 50%.

Claiming that the Congress can never make India strong, PM Modi added, "Today the eyes of the whole world are on India. The world is looking towards India with a lot of hope and expectation. In such a situation it becomes very important that the people of Haryana elect a government that works towards strengthening India. Congress can never make the country strong. Therefore, I request my voters of Haryana to give their blessings to the BJP again." 

'Battle Between Hate And Love'

Addressing a rally in the state's Nuh earlier in the day, Mr Gandhi said the battle in Haryana was between hatred and love.

"Hatred has to be ended. India is not a country of hatred, it is the country of 'mohabbat' (love). And you have shown this to the entire country," said Mr Gandhi.

"The BJP and the RSS are hell-bent on attacking the Constitution... The fight is about this. If the Constitution does not remain, the poor will not have anything," he added.

Polling will be held in all 90 Assembly constituencies in Haryana on Saturday and counting will take place on October 8.