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‘PM’s interest is India, while Congress busy panning Rafale puja’: Yogi Adityanath
Voting for the 90-member Haryana assembly would take place on October 21. Adityanath has been named the BJP’s star campaigner for both Haryana and Maharashtra polls.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday targeted the Congress for panning defence minister Rajnath Singh performing ‘shastra puja’ of Rafale fighter jets in France.
“For Modiji, the interest of the country is most important, while the Congress does not take pride in the nation’s increasing strength. That is the reason why Congressmen were ridiculing the ‘shastra puja’ of the Rafale fighter jet,” he said during his election rallies in Haryana’s Hisar. He also addressed rallies in Bhiwani, Badli and Jhajjar.
Union home minister and BJP chief Amit Shah had also attacked the Congress on the issue.
Voting for the 90-member Haryana assembly would take place on October 21. Adityanath has been named the BJP’s star campaigner for both Haryana and Maharashtra polls.
Rajnath Singh, who is also the Lucknow MP, on Tuesday formally took delivery of the first set of much awaited fighter aircraft at a ceremony in Merignac, France. He performed ‘shastra puja’ by writing ‘Om’ on the aircraft before taking a sortie on the two-seater fighter jet, which is expected to boost the country’s air force.
The Congress had described Rajnath’s ‘shastra puja’ on Rafale fighter jets a ‘tamasha’ (spectacle), claiming the Modi government was driven more by theatrics.
“When my helicopter was hovering over Sirsa, I was told that during the Balakot airstrike on Pakistan, country’s Sukhoi fighter jets took off from here. The land of Haryana was helpful in teaching a lesson to Pakistan. Today, Pakistan PM Imran Khan is running around the world saying India will attack,” he said amid applause.
Adityanath also urged the Haryana electorate to help TikTok star and TV actor Sonali Phogat win the Adampur assembly seat, located on the Haryana-Rajasthan border and considered a Congress bastion.
Phogat will take on Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi, the son of three-time former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal.
In his rallies, Adityanath pointed out that Haryana’s poor female sex ratio had improved due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on ‘beti-bachao, beti-padhao (save daughters, educate daughters)’.
“Before 2014, Haryana was notorious for cases of female foeticide. A decline in number of girls was noticed in the state. But the Modi government’s ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ changed things. This campaign successfully carried forward by Manohar Lal Khattar government in Haryana has helped girls in the state to progress,” he said.
“We worship nine forms of Goddess Durga during Navratri and perform kanya pujan. The BJP government not only talks about women empowerment, but also ensures it is done. We also ended the evil practice of triple talaq,” Adityanath said.
