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UP polls: Modi attacks Congress leadership over Channi’s remark
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses election rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district, touches upon triple talaq issue again
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attacked the Congress leadership over Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s remarks that he “won’t let UP, Bihar, Delhi de bhaiye, come here to rule, enter the state.
The PM also took a veiled dig at Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for “applauding” Channi’s remarks.
“When their chief minister was insulting the people of UP, the Gandhi parivar was clapping and today they are here in UP to seek votes. You have to guard yourself against these dynasts too,” Modi said at a physical rally in Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh shortly after Union home minister Amit Shah raised the issue at a public meeting in Lakhimpur Kheri’s Mohammadi assembly constituency. Fatehpur district goes to the polls in the fourth phase of the seven-phase Uttar Pradesh assembly elections on February 23.
Channi said on Thursday that his remark was twisted and he respects people from other states as they have helped build Punjab.
Modi, who was in UP for the Fatehpur public meeting after attending one in Punjab, said the kind of response Punjab was showing to the BJP was unprecedented.
“I have worked in Punjab for a long time but the kind of response the people of the state have shown towards the BJP now is amazing,” Modi said.
Cheered by the crowd, Modi also raised the issue of instant triple talaq that has been made a punishable offence after the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, was passed in both houses of Parliament in July 2019. This was the fourth time in the last 10 days that Modi touched upon the triple talaq issue.
Political experts noticed that Modi’s continued pitch for Muslim women was aimed at connecting with Muslim women.
“When we brought a law against triple talaq, they (the Opposition) opposed it. I am surprised that these people were so selfish that they didn’t even think about the welfare of those who vote for them,” Modi said.
He said he didn’t care about votes when he pushed ahead with the law. Modi continued to hit out at the Samajwadi Party as a ‘parivarwadi (dynastic)’ party and stayed clear of mentioning the Bahujan Samaj Party whose chief Mayawati held a rally in Banda and targeted the BJP.
