Congress objecting to "Jai Bajrangbali", is slave to appeasement: PM Modi in Karnataka

Tumakuru (Karnataka) [India], May 5 : Attacking Congress ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the former has become a slave of appeasement and vote-bank politics.
Adressing an election rally in Tumakuru, Prime Minister Modi said, "Congress has now started objecting to saying Jai Bajrangbali. Congress has become a slave to appeasement and vote-bank politics. Congress can never work for the welfare of Karnataka. It can never develop Karnataka. The people of Karnataka have understood the game of the Congress and the JDS. A vote to JDS will give Karnataka a weak and unstable government and a weak government can never build a strong Karnataka."
Prime Minister Modi began his address by chanting "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Bajrang Bali ki Jai" (chants to the glory of Lord Hanuman).
PM Modi's remarks come in the backdrop of the Congress's Karnataka election manifesto, including banning rightwing outfits like Bajrang Dal.
The Congress manifesto said the party is committed to taking firm and decisive action against individuals and organisations spreading hatred among communities on grounds of caste and religion.
"We believe that law and Constitution is sacrosanct and cannot be violated by individuals and Organisations like Bajrang Dal, PFI or others promoting enmity or hatred, whether among majority or minority communities. We will take decisive action as per law including imposing a ban on any such organisations," the manifesto said.
Prime Minister further said Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) government never showed seriousness regarding the Upper Bhadra Project. "The BJP is fulfilling your long-pending demand. In this year's budget, Rs 5,000 crore has been provisioned for the Upper Bhadra Project," he said.
"The track record of Congress-JDS is that under their rule, the maximum loot of the money was done from the village. But when the BJP is in government, the village and the poor progress at a fast pace," PM Modi said.
"Every candidate of JDS is a candidate of the Congress only. Every vote given to JDS will stop investment in Karnataka," he said.
Prime Minister Modi said the BJP government is working on the vision as part of which students will have the required skill sets apart from degrees.
He said, "The same Congress wants to lock the future of the youth of Karnataka by banning the modern National Education Policy, wants to ruin them. We implemented a modern National Education Policy in the country. The policy promotes education in regional languages. However, the Congress has declared that it will stop the NEP. Children who could not study English will be deprived of opportunities to become doctors and engineers."
Prime Minister Modi said the work that has been done for the poor, farmer and youth in the last nine years, wasn't done in the last seven decades.
Through the Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, PM Modi said the central government has deposited Rs 2.5 lakh crore directly into the accounts of the farmers. Today, he said, health and wellness centres are being opened in every village.
"We have been continually taking decisions in favour of copra farmers. For this season, we have again increased the MSP of Copra. Congress govt was not able to implement the MSP. They kept ignoring the demands of the farmers," he said.
The Karnataka Assembly elections will be held in a single phase on May 10, with the counting of votes are scheduled for May 13.
Further hitting out at the grand old party, PM Modi said when the Congress was in power, there was no deal without a commission.
It is the BJP government which is setting up modern defence factories in the country and empowering the country's army, he said, adding that the BJP government is working on many projects in Tumkuru.
"Roads are reaching every village under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana. Here, in Tumkuru also, the farmers are drawing the benefits of the food park that was developed for them and the youth here are also getting jobs," he said.
Today, he said, 9 crore women in the country have joined the Self Help Group.
He added that the government has assured help of up to Rs 20 lakh without guarantee to the Self Help Groups.
He said the government has connected about 2 lakh gram panchayats with optical fibre. PM Modi added that to ensure that expensive fertilisers do not burden farmers, the BJP government buys it from around the world at Rs 50 per kg and gives it to the farmers at only Rs 5.
"About 18,000 villages of the country did not have electricity and it seemed we were living in the 18th century. Therefore, I resolved to give them electricity in 1,000 days. We were able to accomplish it in 1,000 days," he said.