E-Paper
UP polls: Modi says Samajwadi Party brings in new ally in each election
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also underlines that the law against triple talaq has saved thousands of families of Muslim women from breaking up in Uttar Pradesh
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took a jibe at the Samajwadi Party (SP) and said the party brings in a new ally in each election and wondered if it could be trusted by the people.
Modi also said the law against triple talaq has saved families of thousands of Muslim women from breaking up in Uttar Pradesh.
He was addressing an election rally at Akbarpur in Kanpur Dehat, where polling is scheduled on February 20.
“Every election, they bring in a new partner. Once the elections are over, they kick that partner out,” he said in an apparent reference to the Samajwadi Party.
When they keep changing allies, how can they serve the people of Uttar Pradesh, he asked.
“Let March 10 (counting day) come, they will be at each other’s necks, cursing and abusing. That is their character,” Modi said.
Amid the hijab controversy, the prime minister said Muslim women were backing the BJP in the elections. Highlighting the positive impact of the improved law and order situation on the lives of Muslim women, he said had they made up their mind to bless Modi.
Asserting that Muslim women have benefitted heavily in last seven years (of BJP rule at the Centre), he recounted the horrors of triple talaq (instant divorce) and how it was scrapped by his government.
“This practice was ruining the lives of women. parents lived in constant fear of their daughter being divorced in one sitting,” he said.
“We have protected the Muslim women through a law and saved thousands of households from breaking up,” the prime minister said on Monday when polling for second phase of UP assembly elections was held.
Asking the people to celebrate Holi 10 days in advance on March 10, the PM said the BJP decimated the opposition thrice in 2014, 2017 and 2019 and this time it would defeat the dynasts, who worry about their families rather than the people.
Modi also hit out the Trinamool Congress (TMC), asking the election commission and the voters of Uttar Pradesh to take notice of it purportedly announcing to divide the Hindu votes in Goa.
“I appeal to the voters to bury this politics of division,” he said.
Stepping up the attack on previous governments, he alleged they did grave injustice to capabilities of Uttar Pradesh by brazenly looting the state and passing the baton on to criminals and the mafia.
“When in power, they had distributed areas among themselves to loot the money meant for the people — uncle to loot in a particular area, nephew in another area. That was their model of governance,” he said.
“If they had their way, they would have created Mafiagunj in every district,” he said.
On the other hand, the Yogi government cracked down on the Mafiosi, putting them on the death bed, the prime minister said.
If these Mafiosi get a “doctor” like Samajwadi Party, they would be back on their feet again and rule Uttar Pradesh, he said while asking the people to stay alert and ensure the rival party doesn’t come back to power.
The Samajwadi Party rule, Modi alleged, was riddled with scams, particularly the ration scam in which forged ration cards were used to deprive the poor of its food.
The double engine government (BJP at Centre and in UP) made sure the people get a double dose of free ration even in the pandemic, Modi asserted.
He said the previous government had created an atmosphere of fear in UP where people were afraid of making investments. The small farmers and marginalised people were looted and befooled, Modi alleged.
He said the BJP brought development and big-ticket projects to change lives, prosperity and progress.
Modi assured that the stray cattle menace—a big poll issue in the Kanpur-Bundelkhand region— would be taken care of.
