Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday compared the Congress to the ill-fated ocean liner Titanic, saying that the day is not far when it will be lost to the world forever. "The condition of the Congress is just like the Titanic: it sinks a little deeper with each passing day. And the ones sitting in the ship with the Congress are either drowning along with it like the Nationalist Congress Party, or are running for their lives," he said at a rally in Maharashtra's Nanded.
The Prime Minister said that the Congress was reduced to just 44 seats in the last Lok Sabha elections, and the situation will only get worse this time. This was why many leaders of the opposition alliance -- such as Sharad Pawar, Praful Patel and Rajiv Satav -- were not even contesting the elections, he added.
PM Modi then turned his attention to Congress president Rahul Gandhi, saying that he "ran to Wayanad" because his position had become uncertain in Amethi. "A recent rally in his original constituency was a complete washout, and there was not a single party flag to be seen. So the Congress dynast used a microscope to find a constituency where he has some chance of winning. Understandably, it's a place where the majority community of the country (meaning Hindus) are in a minority," he said, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.
He alleged that the opposition party was siding with separatists. "The Congress' intention became clear when it demanded proof for the Indian Air Force strikes. This party is directly responsible for all the fires in Jammu and Kashmir that my government has been dousing for the last five years," the Prime Minister claimed.
The National Conference, a Congress ally, also came in for rebuke at the rally. "Farooq Abdullah and his son, Omar Abdullah, want two Prime Ministers -- one for New Delhi and the other for Kashmir. I ask you, is this acceptable? Answer my question loudly, because your voice should be heard all the way up in Jammu and Kashmir."
He ended the rally with an appeal for the popular mandate in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, promising that "every vote you cast will come directly to me".
The RMS Titanic was a seemingly impregnable British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City in 1912. Over 1,500 people died in the incident.
(With inputs from PTI)
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