If Cong has its way, those who say 'Ram Ram' will be arrested: PM Modi
Mahendragarh (Haryana), May 23: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday claimed that if the Congress has its way, it will arrest everyone who says "Ram Ram", and accused the party of dividing India and creating two Muslim nations to appease its vote bank.
Hours before campaigning for the sixth round of the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls came to an end, Modi at a rally in Haryana's Mahendragarh also claimed that the INDIA bloc is talking about having five PMs over the next five years. "The fight over 'ghee' has broken out in the alliance, even before the cow has given milk," he said.
Modi said the entire country knows the Congress' truth. "The Congress and the INDI alliance have their vote bank in the country," he said.
Referring to the Congress, the prime minister claimed that the country was divided into "India and two Muslim nations" for appeasing the vote bank. "Now, INDI alliance people are saying, Muslims have the first right over the remaining part of India," he added.
Targeting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, whose TMC like the Congress is part of the INDIA bloc, Modi said though the Calcutta High Court has cancelled the OBC certificates given to Muslims in the last 10-to-12 years, she is not ready to accept the verdict.
"Till I am alive, no one can snatch the reservation for Dalits and tribals," Prime Minister Modi asserted while campaigning for Dharambir Singh, the BJP's candidate from the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha seat that goes to polls along with the nine other constituencies in the state on May 25.
The INDIA bloc is "extremely communal, casteist and nepotist", he said while alleging that when the Congress was in power, it did not allow the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
"In Haryana, everybody says 'Ram Ram'. People say 'Ram Ram' after every 10 steps," Modi told the gathering at his third rally in the state.
"But if the Congress has its way, it will arrest those who say 'Ram Ram'," he said.
Till the time the Congress was in power, it did not allow the Ram temple to be built, Modi alleged while slamming it for rejecting the invitation for the consecration ceremony of the temple in Ayodhya.
The prime minister alleged that an "advisor" of the 'shehzada' -- a reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi -- has revealed that if the Congress comes to power, it would want to put a lock on the Ram temple. The Congress has "insulted our 'astha' (devotion)", he said.
In this election, "you will not only choose the country's PM but also decide the country's future," Modi told the rally in which Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini was also present.
"On one hand is your tried and tested 'sewak' Modi. Who is on the other side, one does not know," he said, targeting the INDIA bloc.
"The alliance is talking about having five PMs in five years, with a PM for each year. Can a country be run like this," Modi asked and added that at 'chaupals' in Haryana, people will come up with "5,000 jokes" of the INDIA bloc's "five PM project".
SCs, STs and OBCs have been given reservation by the Constitution but "they want to snatch it and give it to those who do vote jihad", he said.
"You must have seen in newspapers and on TV and social media... the high court of West Bengal has given its judgement. In Bengal also, INDI alliance, their conspiracy and anti-reservation mentality against reservation for SCs, STs, OBCs has been busted," Modi said.
"What did they do in Bengal? They gave OBC certificates to Muslims overnight in Bengal," he said.
The reservation which should have been given to OBCs was being given to Muslims and that to too 'ghuspathaiyes' (infiltrators), Prime Minister Modi alleged.
He said that the high court has cancelled OBC certificates given to Muslims in the last 10-to-12 years. "Had there not been the court, then what would have happened. What could our downtrodden, Dalit and adivasi brothers and sisters do? You look at the mentality of the INDI alliance. The Bengal CM has announced that she would not accept the HC verdict. She would give OBC reservation to Muslims," Modi said.
"The Congress, the TMC, and the IND alliance and all its outfits strongly stand by their vote bank," he said.
The Calcutta High Court, in its verdict on Wednesday, struck down the OBC status granted to "77 classes" in West Bengal and noted that "religion indeed appears to have been the sole criterion" for declaring these classes as OBCs.
After the first three phases of polling for the Lok Sabha elections, Modi said, the INDIA bloc started making grounds for whom to blame for their defeat. It has targeted the Election Commission on electoral data and electronic voting machines (EVMs), he said.
"Their (INDIA bloc) government is not going to come for 'saat janam' and every vote given to the Congress is going to waste," Modi said.
He also slammed the Congress on the issue of Article 370 and said it was the party that kept Kashmir separate from India. "Today, they are saying that they will bring back Article 370, if they come to power," Modi said.
On the Congress raising the One Rank One Pension (OROP) issue, Modi alleged that the party had deceived ex-servicemen by depriving them of OROP for many decades. The Congress is full of hatred for the army and soldiers, he charged.
Modi said it was his government which implemented OROP with an involved outlay of Rs 1.25 lakh crore.
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RCB secure IPL playoff berth with 23-run win against Punjab Kings
Dharamsala (PTI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru rode on fluent half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer, along with a decisive opening spell from pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, to thrash Punjab Kings by 23 runs and seal a playoff berth in the IPL here on Sunday.
Kohli (58 off 37 balls), Iyer (73 not out off 40 balls) and Devdutt Padikkal (45) produced impactful knocks as RCB piled up 222 for 4 in 20 overs.
Bhuvneshwar (2/38) then removed the dangerous Punjab Kings opening pair of Priyansh Arya (0) and Prabhsimran Singh (2) early to all but shut the door on the opposition, who eventually managed 199 for 8 in their allotted 20 overs.
Pacer Rasikh Salam (3/36) compounded Punjab Kings' misery by dismissing skipper Shreyas Iyer (1) in the fourth over as the hosts slumped to 19 for 3.
Late-order batters Shashank Singh (56 off 27 balls) and Marcus Stoinis (37 off 25 balls) attempted to revive the innings with a counter-attacking effort, but the towering RCB total ultimately proved far beyond PBKS' reach.
Earlier, Kohli stitched together a 76-run stand with Devdutt for the second wicket to lay the foundation before adding another 60 runs with Venkatesh for the third wicket as table-toppers RCB delivered yet another authoritative batting display.
Brief Scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 222 for 4 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 58, Devdutt Padikkal 45, Venkatesh Iyer 73 not out; Harpreet Brar 2/35).
Punjab Kings: 199 for 8 in 20 overs (Cooper Connolly 37, Suryansh Shedge 35, Marcus Stoinis 37, Shashank Singh 56; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/38, Rasikh Salam 3/36).
