BJP govt respects Constitution, even Babasaheb Ambedkar can't abolish it now: PM Modi
Jaipur, Apr 12: Amid opposition charges that the BJP was out to destroy the Constitution, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that his government revered it and even Babasaheb Ambedkar would not be able to abolish it now.
Addressing an election rally in Barmer, Modi alleged that the Congress was standing with anti-national forces and hit out at the opposition INDIA bloc for "trying to weaken" the country.
Later in the day, Modi held a roadshow in the Dausa Lok Sabha constituency to canvass support for BJP candidate Kanhaiya Lal Meena.
The Barmer rally was organised in support of the party candidate and Union Minister of State Kailash Chaudhary who is contesting from the Barmer Lok Sabha seat.
"The Congress, which discriminated against SCs, STs and OBCs for decades, made Babasaheb lose elections, did not give him Bharat Ratna, and tried to abolish the Constitution by imposing emergency in the country, is today taking cover of the Constitution to abuse Modi," he said.
"The INDI alliance is telling lies in the name of the Constitution," he added.
Modi said his government came up with the idea of celebrating Constitution Day, which was opposed by the Congress, and he also developed the 'Panchtirthas' associated with Ambedkar.
Modi said the people are talking about the BJP winning 400 seats this time because the Congress has continuously tried to stop him from doing good work in the last 10 years.
"Hence the country wants to punish you (Congress) and has made up its mind to clean you up," he said.
"As far as the Constitution is concerned, even if Babasaheb Ambedkar himself comes, he cannot abolish it. The Constitution is Geeta, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bible and Quran for the government. For us, the Constitution is everything," Modi said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had last month alleged that the "ultimate goal of Narendra Modi and the BJP is to destroy Babasaheb's Constitution" after BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde's statement that the party needs a two-thirds majority to amend the Constitution.
The BJP had dubbed Hegde's remarks "personal opinion" and sought clarification from him.
Dr B R Ambedkar was the Chief Architect of the Constitution.
Without taking any names, Modi said a party in the INDIA bloc has called for nuclear disarmament -- referring to the CPI(M) manifesto.
"Should a country like India, whose neighbours on both sides have nuclear weapons, think about eliminating nuclear weapons? I want to ask the Congress, on whose instructions your INDI alliance is working?" Modi said.
"What kind of alliance is this that wants to make India powerless," he asked.
Modi said the Congress' thinking was anti-development and the country's border districts were deliberately deprived of development by former Congress governments.
"The Congress stands with every anti-national force. It ruled for decades but there is not a single major problem of the country for which it gave a complete solution," Modi said.
"The Congress' thinking is anti-development. The country's border districts were deliberately deprived of development by former Congress governments," he said.
While Modi is busy making India a powerful nation, people of the INDI alliance are trying to make India weak, he said.
Modi also slammed Rahul Gandhi over his 'Shakti' remark, saying, "We worship Shakti but the 'Shehzada' (Gandhi) of the Congress says that he will destroy the shakti of Hindu religion. Our mothers and sisters will deal with those who try to destroy shakti".
Modi said that the Congress boycotted the Ram temple consecration ceremony on January 22.
"The Congress gives protection to those who throw stones at Ram Navami processions in Rajasthan and welcomes intruders but opposes CAA which gives citizenship to Dalits and Sikhs who opposed partition," he said.
Stone pelting incident occurred during a Ram Navami procession in Rajasthan's Karauli district in April 2022 when Congress was in power.
Modi said every vote in the election will strengthen the foundation of developed India.
"This election is not an election of the party but of the country. That is why today the whole country is saying '4 June 400 Paar'," he said.
He said the Congress called the border villages of the country the last villages and successive governments of the party deliberately kept the border districts deprived of development.
"It was said that if there is development near the border then the chances of the enemy coming inside the country and occupying it will increase. What are you saying? Which enemy has the courage to think of entering Barmer and capturing it?" he said.
"We consider the villages in the border areas as the first villages of the country and not the last villages. For us the country starts from the border," he said.
Accusing the previous Congress government in Rajasthan of creating hurdles in the fast-paced development of an oil refinery in Barmer, he said it would have been inaugurated in his second term itself if the opposition party was not in power in the state.
"The Congress created obstacles. I will definitely come to inaugurate the refinery in my third term. Employment opportunities will be created here in the coming time," he said.
Modi said Kutch in Gujarat was among the fastest developing districts in the country and the price of land there is equal to Mumbai.
Barmer can also be developed on the lines of Kutch, he said.
In the roadshow in Dausa, Modi was joined by Kanhaiya Lal Meena and Rajasthan minister Kirodi Lal Meena in an open vehicle amid tight security arrangements.
The prime minister waved at people lining both sides of the road and showed the BJP's 'lotus' poll symbol to appeal to people to vote for the party.
The roadshow covered a distance of around one-and-a-half km from Gandhi Tiraha to Gupteshwar Circle.
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Udupi CNG fuel shortage: Long queues of vehicles has become a common sight
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Udupi (Karnataka) Apr 29: The coastal district of Udupi is going through a severe shortage of Compressed Natural Gas for Automotive applications.
Although the number of CNG fuel-based vehicles is increasing, the number of CNG filling stations in Udupi district has not risen. In the existing bunks, the supply is not as high as the demand. Due to this, motorists, especially rickshaw drivers have to wait for hours to get their fuel tanks filled.
“I've been waiting for not less than four-five hours everyday for the past one week. Most of the time my vehicle is idle and I am not able to take up fares, as a result of which I have lost so much of income and my bank obligations will take a beating if this continues any longer," Sundar Shetty, a rickshaw driver in Udupi said.
CNG fuel is not being supplied to existing bunks as per demand. And as the demand is high, the stock depletes quickly and sometimes the rickshaws are parked overnight in a queue for early morning refuelling, leaders of the CNG Autorickshaw Drivers Association said.
In Udupi town, there is only one bunk that has CNG facility, but most of the time it is empty.
“Due to high investment on land, equipment and daily stocks, there are not many takers for this business” the bunk owners said.
There is only one CNG station in Kundapura taluk out of three in Udupi district. There are more than 5,000 CNG based vehicles in the district.
The sight of hundreds of rickshaws and other vehicles waiting to fill CNG fuel at the CNG bank in Koteshwar every day from 4 am is very common.
Sometimes one has to wait till 8-9 o'clock. However, there is no guarantee that everyone will get fuel. Similar are the conditions in Karkala and Kundapur taluks of Udupi district.
The rickshaw drivers and other CNG users have appealed to the Udupi district authorities and approached the Udupi Chamber of Commerce and Industry to put pressure on the government to normalise supply and to open more bunks.
