"Jihadis Across Border Supporting Samajwadi Party, Congress": PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said INDIA bloc parties want to turn the country's majority community into second-class citizens and also alleged that "jihadis" across the border are supporting the Samajwadi Party and the Congress.

He attacked the parties of the opposition bloc, alleging they are planning to rewrite the Constitution to provide reservation on the basis of religion.

The prime minister was in Uttar Pradesh's Purvanchal region to address rallies in Ghosi, Deoria and Mirzapur in support of BJP and NDA Lok Sabha poll candidates contesting in the seventh and last phase of the general elections on June 1.

"In Pakistan, 'duas' (prayers) are being made for the INDI alliance of Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress. Jihadis across the border are supporting them. The SP and the Congress are making an appeal for 'vote jihad'," PM Modi said in an apparent reference to a remark by an INDIA bloc candidate.

"This (INDIA bloc) group is saying that if they come to power, they will reimpose Article 370 in Kashmir. They will repeal the CAA (Citizenship (Amendment) Act) which gives citizenship to the victims of Partition. Whose agenda is this... this is what these anti-India forces want?" he said.

Hitting out at the bloc, Prime Minister Modi claimed the "INDI jamaat" has been abusing him for his opposition to reservation on the basis of religion.

The prime minister listed three "big conspiracies" of the opposition bloc and said, "First, the people of INDI alliance will change the Constitution and write in it afresh that reservation should be given on the basis of religion in India. Second, these INDI people will end the reservation given to SC, ST, OBC. Third, they will give the entire reservation to Muslims on the basis of religion," Modi said.

He said, "A third method has been created to circumvent the OBC reservation. They are declaring Muslim castes as OBC overnight. Recently, the Calcutta High Court has rejected OBC reservation for 77 Muslim castes." 

PM Modi went on to add, "Today, the SP, Congress and the INDI people want to make the majority community in India second-class citizens." He also branded the bloc as communal and casteist, and targetted the SP, saying people associated with it have a "'chhatees ka ankara' (animosity) with law and order".

"The SP used to release captured terrorists and its government used to suspend police officials for catching terrorist," PM Modi said and added that the party kept Purvanchal backward under a conspiracy.

"During the SP government, mafias had built palaces on public land. But since Yogi Adityanath has come (as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh) the environment has changed. Now, the 'acche din' (good days) of mafias are over. Houses of the poor are being built in place of their palaces. This is the difference between the BJP and the INDI alliance," he said.

PM Modi alleged that the "families of the SP and the Congress had their dynastic mindset to turn Purvanchal into a region of mafia, poverty and helplessness". "I want to remind you that in 2012, the SP in its manifesto had stated that Muslim should get reservation equal to that of Dalits. The INDI jamaat wants to change the Constitution for this. When I ask them (about reservation) they abuse Modi," he said, adding he is opposing reservation on the basis of religion.

The people of the Purvanchal region will punish them for these, he said.

PM Modi also alleged that the Congress created "roadblocks" for countries that wanted to purchase the BrahMos missiles.

"There has been a demand for these in many countries but the Congress does not like it. Many countries wanted to purchase the BrahMos but the Congress government created hurdles because the 'INDI' people do not want India to become self-reliant in the defence sector," PM Modi said.

The prime minister said, "The day is not far when BrahMos missiles will also be made in Uttar Pradesh." Referring to previous poll manifestos of the SP and the Congress, PM Modi said, "In 2012 (assembly polls), the SP had clearly written in its manifesto that the reservation that Babasaheb gave to Dalits, similar reservation will be given to Muslims." The Congress declared educational establishments as minority institutions and gave reservation to Muslims there, he claimed.

"Before 2014, the Congress changed the law overnight to declare schools, colleges and universities as minority institutions. They declared thousands of educational institutions as minority institutions. Earlier, the reservation SC, ST and OBC students were getting there was completely ended and Muslims got reservation," PM Modi said.

"What can be a bigger betrayal than this of the sons and daughters of Dalits, backward tribals?" PM Modi asked and added that the INDIA bloc wants to "take back the country by several decades".

Referring to the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the prime minister said people from across the world are visiting it for a 'darshan' of Ram Lalla. But those of the SP and the Congress rejected the invitation for the temple's consecration ceremony, PM Modi said.

"They pretend to go to temples during elections. But these people started abusing the Ram temple when such a grand festival (consecration ceremony) of our faith came after 500 years. These people were angry with the construction of the Ram temple," he said.

He also claimed that these opposition parties talk about reversing the verdict in the Ram temple case just as it was done in the Shah Bano case.

In 1985, the Supreme Court had ruled in favour of Shah Bano, a Muslim woman from Indore who had sought maintenance from her husband after divorce, but the then-Rajiv Gandhi government overturned the judgement through an Act. In November 2019, a five-judge top court bench had paved the way for construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, ending a decades-long land dispute.

The prime minister said when "Modi openly exposes them (opposition), they raise slogans of digging Modi's grave." "They issue fatwas of vote jihad against Modi but as long as Modi has the protective shield of mothers and sisters of the country and the blessings of all of you, no one can do any harm to Modi," he said.

In Mau district's Ghosi, PM Modi campaigned for NDA partner SBSP's Arvind Rajbhar (Ghosi) and BJP's Neeraj Shekhar (Ballia) and Ravindra Kushwaha (Salempur). He sought support for BJP's Kamlesh Paswan (Bansgaon) and Shashank Mani Tripathi (Deoria) in Deoria in Gorakhpur district and for NDA partner Apna Dal's Anupriya Patel (Mirzapur) and Rinki Kol (Robertsganj) in Mirzapur district.

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