On eve of Kairana bypoll, PM Modi tears into Congress

Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service

Baghpat, May 27

On the eve of the bypoll in the nearby Kairana parliamentary seat in western Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday mounted a scathing attack on the opposition Congress and its allies.

Modi said: “Those with vested political interests shed crocodile tears regarding welfare of Dalits, backwards and the poor while we are taking measures for their welfare.”

He said his government wanted to invest the OBC Commission with constitutional status but the “Congress and its allies” blocked it in Parliament. “But I assure you that this will be done,” he said.

He said that the Opposition parties hold everything undertaken by the NDA government to uplift the lot of oppressed, poor and farmers to “derision”, treating them as a “joke”.

He alleged that they have been spreading misinformation and canards about the government.

They do not spare any authority, including VIPs and foreign dignitaries who praise the government for its performance. He said they distorted the Supreme Court’s order with regard to the preventing of atrocities on SC and STs. They also ridiculed the authority of the apex court, he alleged.

He cautioned the farmers that the Opposition have spread a rumour that the government was planning to impose 18 per cent GST on agriculture produce relating to contractual farming.

He warned those indulging in such lies of punitive action, and urged people to lodge complaint against them.

He assured the sugarcane farmers of western Uttar Pradesh that the governments at the Centre and were state were jointly working together regarding their problems.

Lavishing praise on UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for lifting agriculture produce from mandis, and comparing the law and order in western Uttar Pradesh preceding the Yogi government, he said it has improved now. Now the criminals are surrendering on their own volition, he said.

He also praised Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar for jointly working with UP Government to check inter-state movement of criminals after committing a crime.