"Now going around world with begging bowl": PM Modi invokes Pak as he tears into Cong in Bihar's Purnea

Purnea (Bihar) [India], April 16 : Invoking neighbouring Pakistan to take a swipe at the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday the country, which used to strike India and pose a grave threat to the security of fellow citizens under the grand old party, has been going around the world with a 'begging bowl' since his government was elected for the first time in 2014.
Addressing a public rally in Bihar's Purnea on Tuesday, PM Modi said it was only the BJP-led NDA that had the 'guts' and the political will to do the kind of work previous governments never did and take the country to new heights.
"Under previous governments, terrorists and infiltrators from our neighbouring country (Pakistan) routinely crossed over, targeted us and fled. Our soldiers used to fall to enemy bullets on the border almost every day. I am sure you must have experienced helpless anger back in the day when they would target us. You would have felt like entering their homes and killing them. Modi obeyed your wishes and the outcome is that the country, which once used to challenge us and put the lives of our people at risk, is now going around the world with a begging bowl," PM Modi said, in an oblique reference to the severe economic distress in neighbouring Pakistan.
Taking a further dig at the previous Congress-led UPA at the Centre, he said his government has accomplished works that were deemed 'impossible' earlier.
"The NDA has accomplished works that were deemed impossible in previous regimes. Today, people across the country are saying that only the BJP and the NDA have the guts to do things previous governments never did," PM Modi added.
Significantly, Pakistan has been reeling under the debilitating impact of a crippled economy in recent years, with prices of essential goods going through the roof and people struggling for basic meals.
According to a report, inflation is expected to hover at a staggering 26.5 per cent in the current fiscal before it is expected to moderate to 17 per cent in fiscal 2025 due to high-base effects and a decrease in global commodity prices.
The overall economic contraction, high inflation, and flood-related damages have disproportionately affected poorer households, leading to increased inequality, according to the report.
Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan needs another loan programme from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for its fragile economy to stabilise.
PM Modi headlined the rally at Purnea to shore up support for the NDA candidate in the Lok Sabha elections.
Purnea is poised to witness an intriguing electoral contest, with Pappu Yadav, the sitting MP who recently joined the Congress, entering the fray as an Independent candidate.
The BJP has fielded Santosh Kumar, while the RJD has fielded Bima Bharti. Defying the seat-sharing deal between the INDIA partners in the state, as part of which the Congress was to set Purnea aside for the Lalu Yadav-led party, Pappu filed his nomination for the seat as an Independent.
Polling for 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar will be held across all seven phases of the general elections. In Phase 1, voting will be held in four seats, while five seats each will go to polls in phases 2 to 5. In phases 6 and 7, polling will be held for eight seats each.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the NDA recorded a near-clean sweep of the state, winning 39 of 40 seats. The BJP won 17 seats with a vote share of 24.1 per cent, while JD(U) secured victory on 16 seats with a vote share of 22.3 per cent. The undivided LJP won 6 seats with a vote share of 8 per cent, while the Congress brought up the rear, winning just a lone seat and a vote share of 7.9 per cent.