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Congress must learn nationalism from Mudhol’s hounds, says PM Modi
Modi chided the Congress and asked it to learn nationalism from the Mudhol hound dogs of north Karnataka, which have been inducted into the Indian army.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused Congress leaders of falling sick at the very mention of nationalism, saying it was unbelievable that the party’s leaders had extended support to those who had said they would break the country, asking them to learn nationalism from the Mudhol hounds that are native to the district.
Addressing a rally in Jamkhandi in Bagalkot district ahead of the May 12 polls in the state, Modi said, “Could anybody have imagined that Congress leaders would have joined hands with those who said ‘Bharat ke tukde karenge’? These Congress politicians also do not fear from committing the sin of asking the army for proof of surgical strikes.”
“I want to tell those who fall sick at the mention of nationalism, don’t learn from anybody else, not even from Mahatma Gandhi, but at least learn from the Mudhol hounds. These dogs are going out to protect the nation with a new battalion. This is the first time such a big move has been made and we have started a Mudhol battalion,” Modi said.
The prime minister said he was saddened that Congress leaders had completely forgotten Parliamentary etiquette because of the arrogance of having been in power for 60 years. “It has been the tradition that those who lose in elections accept the defeat and the peaceful transfer of power. But after 2014 Lok Sabha election results, Congress politicians, the mother and son, did not even have the courtesy to congratulate the party that won,” he said, referring to then Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
Modi said it was then that he learnt that they were Naamdar, as they had been prime ministers for generations, “they will not accept a kaamdar like me”. “But I want to tell you this arrogance of Congress has reached such a level that even when a Dalit became a president Sonia Gandhi couldn’t find the time to give him a courtesy call for over a year, and the son met the president seven months later that too, when he had to submit a memorandum.”
Accusing the Congress of stooping to new lows, Modi said they had decided to divide people on the basis of castes just to win an election. “The Congress wants to divide Karnataka, but we will not let this happen. Wake up Congress leaders, at least if you don’t want to listen to listen to the poet Kuvempu, who said Karnataka is the daughter of India.”
The prime minister also took a pot shot at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of trying to appropriate the teachings of the 12th century philosopher Basaveshwara, considered the founder of the Lingayat religion. “How much Congress politicians know about Basavanna is shown by the two words they repeat, ‘Nudidante Nade’,” he said. “But it was when Atal Bihari Vajpayee became prime minister that a statue of Basavanna was placed in Parliament for the first time. And to promote Basavanna’s teachings across the world, in 2015 I inaugurated a statue of Basavanna in London next to the Thames river.”
They even mock Beti Bachao, beti padhao, Modi said. “If there is female foeticide and a skewed sex ratio in parts of the country, it is because of Congress policies, and we have tried to address this.”
Earlier, speaking at a rally in Chitradurga, Modi said social welfare minister H Anjaneya had played politics over the issue of drinking water. “The minister did corruption even in the Ganga Kalyana scheme, which aims to provide drinking water. Reject the Congress that plays such politics even over drinking water,” he said. The prime minister also addressed a rally in Raichur.
Responding to Modi’s statements, KC Venugopal, Congress vice-president in charge of the state, said the prime minister was resorting to polarisation as his development agenda stood exposed. “This is a prime minister who has distorted history, especially with regard to the allegations he leveled against the Congress of having sidelined Field Marshal KM Cariappa and General Thimayya,” he said.
“Modi has nothing to offer the people of Karnataka in terms of a development agenda, and, hence, he has resorted to polarization,” Venugopal said. “Besides, we don’t need any lessons on nationalism from either Modi or the BJP.”
