STATE TIMES NEWS
Ballari/Tumakuru (K’taka): Keeping up his relentless attack on the Congress amid intense campaigning for the Karnataka Assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday alleged that it has nurtured, given shelter and surrendered before terror for the sake of vote bank politics, while he also termed the defence sector as “a club for the party which their close relatives could plunder”.
Wading into the controversy surrounding the movie ‘The Kerala Story’, Modi said the film is said to be a work based on the terrorists’ deceitful policies and conspiracies in just one state, and accused the Congress of indulging in backdoor political bargaining with people having terror inclinations.
“To make Karnataka the number one state in the country, law and order is important. Karnataka remaining free from terror is equally important. BJP has always been harsh against terror. But whenever there is action against terror, Congress will get a stomach ache,” Modi said. Addressing a public meeting in Ballari ahead of the May 10 Assembly polls in the state, Modi said today the whole world is worried about the danger of terror and that India too has on several occasions suffered due to it. The country has lost a large number of innocent civilians due to terror attacks.
“Terrorism is anti-humanity, anti-human values and anti-development. I am surprised that for the sake of its vote bank, Congress has surrendered before terror. Can such a party protect Karnataka and its civilians in any way? Under the climate of terror, the industries here, the IT industry, farmers, and rich culture and heritage here will be destroyed,” he added.
Claiming that the Congress has lost courage to speak against terror, Modi alleged that for the sake of vote bank politics, the party has nurtured and given shelter to terror.
“With changing times, the nature of terror is also changing. Whether smuggling or drug trade or communal frenzy, all are somehow connected to terror,” he said.
Highlighting that in the last few years, another dangerous form of terror has emerged, Modi said the sound of bombs and guns can at least be heard, but there won’t be any sound to terror conspiracy.
Even courts have expressed worry on this nature of terror, he said. The film made on such a terror conspiracy ‘The Kerala Story’ is under discussion. “It is said the film is based on the terrorists’ deceitful policies and conspiracies in just one state,” Modi charged.
“Such a beautiful state of the country, where people are hardworking and talented. This ‘Kerala Story’ film brings out terror conspiracies happening in that state,” he said.
“It is unfortunate that Congress can be seen standing with this terror trend that is seeking to ruin the country. Congress is even indulging in backdoor political bargaining with people having terror inclinations. People of Karnataka should be cautious about Congress,” the PM added.
The Prime Minister later also held an unscheduled roadshow in Tumakuru.
Addressing a public meeting in Tumakuru, he predicted a thumping victory for the BJP in Karnataka, saying that the crowd that turned out at the unplanned roadshow and at the public meeting here was proof of the party coming out on top in the election.
Criticising Congress leaders for allegedly misleading employees of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited a few years ago when the Indian Army was deployed on the border, the Prime Minister said the party was not even talking about the public sector company in this election.
He also claimed that the defence sector was like “a club for the Congress which their close relatives could plunder”.
In an apparent reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of irregularities in the Rafale fighter jet deal and taking away jobs from HAL, Modi said: “Remember the lies they had spread four-five years ago. They tried to mislead the HAL workers. It was done at a time when our Army was deployed on the border. In this election, the Congress leaders are not at all spelling out the name of HAL.”
According to him, the reason behind the Congress’ silence on HAL was that this was for the first time since its inception, the HAL made a record profit.
The Prime Minister said “earlier due to theft, no profit was happening” but after he came to power, the state-run entity started registering profits.
When the Congress was in power, no defence deal happened “without commission”, he said, adding it is the BJP that is setting up modern defence factories and strengthening the Indian Army.
“For Congress, defence sector was a club where maternal uncles, paternal uncles and close relatives could plunder the nation. This was Congress’ 85 per cent commission government which had ruined the HAL,” he alleged.
Explaining the need for a ‘double engine’ government, he said Asia’s biggest helicopter factory of HAL at Tumakuru stands testimony to having the same party governments at the Centre and in the state.
Due to the factory, Tumakuru is “shining on the world map”, the Prime Minister said adding, the people of the district gave him the opportunity to lay the foundation and inaugurate the helicopter unit.
“A big helicopter manufacturing unit could come up because we laid emphasis on the ‘Made In India’ system for the Indian armed forces but Congress always wanted India to be dependent on imported products,” Modi said.
At the Tumakuru rally, Modi also made a point to chant Bajrang Bali Ki Jai’ (Hail Hanuman) and quoted a line from noted Kannada poet Kuvempu’s poem hailing Lord Hanuman, and claimed that the Congress has a problem with chanting ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’.
Hitting out at the Congress’ poll manifesto to scrap the National Education Policy, the PM flayed the party for allegedly “hindering” the future of children with the proposal as NEP enables a child to pursue studies in their mother tongue.
He said NEP has been formulated to ensure that the lack of knowledge of English should not stop an economically weaker child from rural areas from becoming a doctor or an engineer.
Amidst the best efforts of the BJP government, the Congress has become an “enemy of rural children”, Modi claimed.
The Congress, in its manifesto released earlier this week, said it will reject NEP and form a ‘State Education Policy’.
“The BJP government has distorted the textbooks by insulting the great souls of Karnataka like ‘Vishwaguru’ Basavanna, ‘Rashtrakavi’ Kuvempu. The Congress will restore the true values of Bharat and Karnataka and scientific temper in the textbooks to make the students evolved and complete,” the Congress said in its manifesto. Modi said the BJP-led government at the Centre introduced NEP to meet the requirements of the 21st century.
This NEP was prepared under the leadership of one of the greatest scientists of India — Dr K Kasturirangan — the Prime Minister said, adding Karnataka had been the ‘karmabhoomi’ (land of work) of the former ISRO chairman, who was also the Karnataka Knowledge Commission Chairman.
After consultations with thousands of domain experts and on the suggestions of crores of people of India, the NEP was introduced, Modi said.
The biggest advantage of this policy is that it lays emphasis on studying in regional languages, the Prime Minister pointed out.