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Amid shakti row, Modi hits out at INDIA bloc
PM Modi accuses Opposition's INDIA bloc of "abusing Hinduism" over Rahul Gandhi's "shakti" remarks, urges Tamil Nadu to support BJP-led NDA in elections
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday continued his tirade against the Opposition’s INDIA bloc over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “shakti” remarks, accusing its members of “abusing Hinduism”, even as he urged the people of Tamil Nadu to give his BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) a massive mandate in the Lok Sabha elections.
Rahul Gandhi’s “fight against shakti” remark, made on Sunday in Mumbai during the culmination of the Bharat Jodi Nyay Yatra, has evoked strong reactions from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with PM Modi saying that every mother and daughter was a form of “Shakti” for him. The Congress leader later clarified that by “shakti”, he was referring to the might of the state.
Addressing a rally in Salem, Modi said: “The INDI alliance doesn’t target any other faith, doesn’t speak a word against others, but won’t waste a second in abusing Hinduism... How can this happen? They had even opposed the installing of the sacred Sengol in the Parliament. Sengol is connected with the mutts here, that is why they deliberately insult that.”
On March 17, speaking on the completion of his 62-day east-to-west peregrination that began in Manipur, Gandhi said: “In the Hindu religion, there is a word called shakti. We are fighting shakti…We are fighting against a shakti. The question is, what is that shakti? Like someone here said, the king’s soul is in the EVMs. That is right. The king’s soul is in the EVM, is inside every institution in India, is inside the ED, CBI, the Income Tax department.”
He was referring to electronic voting machines (EVMs), the constant target of some opposition parties that believe process, not politics, is responsible for their defeats. The Opposition has also alleged, not entirely without basis, that federal agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have targeted opposition leaders.
On Tuesday, Modi also invoked national poet Subramania Bharathi, saying that he had worshipped Mother India “in Shakti swaroop” (a form of Shakti). He also worshipped the country’s ‘nari shakti,’ Modi said.
Modi described himself as a similar ‘shakthi upasak’ (worshipper).
“Tamil Nadu will punish those who talk of destroying Shakti. This is the guarantee of crores of people of Tamil Nadu,” he said.
Modi said that the BJP will spring a surprise in Tamil Nadu where it hasn’t received favourable electoral outcomes. He added that the DMK has gone “sleepless” after seeing the reception that he has been receiving during his frequent visits to the state. “The support that is being received by the BJP in Tamil Nadu is the talk of the town.”
This is Modi’s sixth visit to Tamil Nadu since January ahead of the state facing the general elections on April 19 in the first of the seven phases. “This is the first time the Prime Minister has visited the state so many times and almost back to back. It shows our focus,” a state BJP leader said not wishing to be named. Modi was last here on March 15 and returned on March 18 to Coimbatore where he held a road show, paid tributes to blast victims from 1998 in the city during his senior and veteran leader L K Advani’s visit.
The visit also saw the BJP finalising deals with the PMK who has been allotted 10 seats on Tuesday morning.
Slamming DMK and its ally Congress, he said they were two sides of the coin, known for “big corruption, one family rule. “With Congress away from power at the Centre, the country has reached a 5G level of communication, “ he said.
During his address, Modi turned emotional and paused his speech shortly here while recalling a slain BJP functionary from this district, who was killed 10 years ago.
He choked while talking about ‘Auditor’ V Ramesh, who was hacked to death in 2013.
The PM paused his speech for sometime and when he resumed, he recalled Ramesh’s work for the party.
“I can’t forget Auditor Ramesh. Unfortunately, today Ramesh is not among us. Ramesh worked hard for the party, day and night and he was a good orator. But he was killed. Today I pay my tributes to him,” Modi said.
Hitting back at Modi, DMK treasurer T R Baalu took a swipe at his frequent visits.
Modi, who has made it a habit to visit Tamil Nadu frequently, “should have garnered votes by talking about his achievements as PM, but since there is nothing like that, he spoke about everything else.
In the past, prime ministers visited Tamil Nadu only once or twice to campaign during elections but “since Modi has lost his sleep” he comes to Tamil Nadu often, the DMK Parliamentarian said, quipping that the people of the state are “ready to give him a permanent break”.
He questioned why the BJP thinks it is qualified to talk about corruption when the saffron party has been the largest beneficiary of the electoral bonds, and alleged that the Modi government used central agencies to gather funds for the party.
