PM makes ‘vote jihad vs Ram Rajya’ pitch as elections reach midway mark

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, May 7

As voting for half of the 543 Lok Sabha seats ended on Tuesday, PM Narendra Modi intensified his anti-Congress pitch framing the ongoing elections as a choice between “Ram Rajya and vote jihad” and declaring that erasure of the Opposition from national politics would be a real tribute to BR Ambedkar.

Pandemic of lies, says Congress

After voting for 283 seats, it’s clear that the BJP is half in North and wiped out in South. So the PM is betraying increasing signs of nervousness. He is spreading a pandemic of lies, and he’s running a “3D” election campaign — to distort, divert and defame. Jairam Ramesh, AICC General Secretary

The PM, who voted early on Tuesday in Gandhinagar from where Union Home Minister Amit Shah is the BJP candidate, said at election rallies in Madhya Pradesh, “We must decide the route that we want to take — Ram Rajya or vote jihad.” On Monday, the PM had urged the Muslims to introspect as to why they had been left behind on the road to development.

Speaking to a television channel, the PM said even countries like Saudi Arabia had yoga as part of syllabus there. “But when I promote yoga in India, I am called anti-Muslim... There is a mindset that they (Muslims) can make or mar governments... So I earnestly urge the Muslim community to introspect how the Congress treated them as vote bank and deprived them of the fruit of development. The BJP is not against Muslims,” he said. Midway into the election cycle wherein Modi is seeking a historic third term in office to equal Jawaharlal Nehru’s record, the PM reiterated “the Congress will snatch the reservation meant for SCs, STs and OBCs and give it to Muslims” line.

The PM also used RJD supremo Lalu Yadav’s statement to attack the Opposition. “He (Lalu Yadav) was convicted in fodder scam and is out on bail. He says Muslims should get full reservation, which means the Opposition wants to snatch the reservation meant for SCs, STs and OBCs and give it to Muslims. For these people, vote bank politics is the only lifeline. These people are saying on the voting day that they want to give full reservation to Muslims. Such people should lose their deposits. Erasing them from the national political scene will be a real tribute to BR Ambedkar,” the PM said in Dhar, the land of Malwa king Raja Bhoj.

His remarks are significant as Hindu petitioners from the city have staked legal claim to full ownership of Bhojshala, an 11th century monument built by Raja Bhoj, where a mosque also stands. The matter is in the Madhya Pradesh HC.

The PM also utilised the occasion to flag the serial exodus of leaders from the Congress. “To grasp the dangerous intentions of the Congress, you have to understand why old Congress workers and leaders are quitting the party. One person said she quit because they harassed her for praying at Ram Mandir. Another said people with Muslim League and Maoist mindset have captured the Congress. A third person said the Congress, if elected, planned to overturn the Supreme Court judgment on Ram Temple,” Modi said.

About The Author

Tribune News Service

The Tribune News Service brings you the latest news, analysis and insights from the region, India and around the world. Follow the Tribune News Service for a wide-ranging coverage of events as they unfold, with perspective and clarity.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.

#Congress #Lok Sabha #Narendra Modi