"As long as my mothers and sisters are with me...": PM Modi counters Cong leader's threat to 'break' his head

Janjgir-Champa (Chhattisgarh) [India], April 23 : Terming the country's 'Nari Shakti' (women power) as his 'Raksha Kavach' (protective shield), Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday as long as the 'mothers and sisters' are with him, the Opposition's attempts to peddle its 'agenda' against him wouldn't succeed.
Addressing a public rally at Janjgir-Champa in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, PM Modi hit back at Congress leader Charan Das Mahant over his call to 'break' his head, saying "No one can inflict any harm on Modi."
"Congress people (Mahant) are now saying they will break Modi's head. As long as my mothers and sisters are with me, no one can bring any harm to Modi. The mothers and sisters are my 'Raksha Kavach' (protective shield). You can imagine the kind of leaders, who abuse the 'Modi Samaj' (a reference to Rahul Gandhi's alleged imputation that everyone with the surname 'Modi' was a thief) and 'Sahu Samaj' (a community of traders). Now, they are threatening to break Modi's head. A Congress leader even wished death to Modi. But his wish will never come true because where 140 crore people stand with you, '' (even death has to wait a long time)," PM Modi said.
Earlier, addressing a rally at Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon on April 2, Mahant said the need of the hour was for someone with a stick, who could confront PM Modi.
"We need a protector who can stand up to Narendra Modi, and your MP (candidate, former CM Bhupesh Baghel) is that person. We want someone who can wield a stick and confront Narendra Modi," Mahant said.
Firing a fresh salvo at the grand old party for turning down the invitation to the 'Pran Pratishtha' of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya on January 22, PM Modi said, "Congress leaders consider themselves to be above Lord Ram, as nothing else would explain why they turned down the invitation to the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony in Ayodhya. Was it not utter disregard or disrespect towards Chhattisgarh? This state is the 'Nanihal' (where one's grandmother resides) of Ram Lalla. Was it also not a show of disrespect towards Mata Shabri? Appeasement politics is in the Congress' DNA."
"They will not hesitate to take away the rights of Dalits, poor and Adivasis to advance their appeasement politics. Our priority, on the other hand, is the welfare of the poor, youth and women," PM Modi said.
Meanwhile, a girl caught PM Modi's attention during his address in Janjgir-Champa, as she urged the latter's security escorts to take a self-made portrait that she brought as a present for him.
PM Modi asked her to put her name and address on the back of the portrait while requesting his escorts to bring it to him. "I will write to you son," he said, directing his gaze at the girl.
Polling for the Lok Sabha in Chhattisgarh is being held in three phases. While only a lone seat polled in the opening phase on April 19, the remaining 10 Lok Sabha constituencies will go to polls on April 26 and May 7.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP won 9 of the 11 Lok Sabha seats in the state, while the Congress had to settle for just 2 seats.