Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at an election rally in Dhandhuka, Ahmedabad district, hit out at the Congress for allegedly attempting to stall important decisions in the name of elections.
Referring to Sunni Waqf Board counsel Kapil Sibal’s demand in the Supreme Court to postpone the hearing on the Ayodhya Ram temple case till completion of general elections in 2019, Modi said the Congress is creating political machinations from crucial decisions of national interest.
“A Congress leader (Sibal) is representing Babri mosque in the Supreme Court. He is free to fight the case with documents and facts. But how dare you tell the court to postpone the hearing after 2019 elections? The Congress wants to delay the Ram temple verdict for electoral purpose,” he said. “Why does he have to link a Ram mandir with elections? Is such thinking proper?”
His comments came on the 25th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, December 6.
Referring to the triple talaq issue, Modi said his government took a stand on it in the Supreme Court without waiting for UP elections to get over. “The lives and futures of millions of women were at stake. People thought Modi would delay filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court. Many feared damage in the ensuing UP polls. But we filed our affidavit and the Supreme Court gave its verdict also,” he said.
Various elections are held in different parts of the country at all times, and this has parties attempting to stall important decisions, Modi further said, adding that the solution lies in holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.
Listing out the achievements of the BJP government in Gujarat under his leadership, he said: “When I was made Chief Minister, there were about 1.5 lakh transformers in the State. That caused frequent power fluctuations and outages. Now, there are more than 12 lakh transformers in the State.
“The entire State had only one expectation from me — to give 24 hours electricity. And we did it.”
Modi also paid tribute to Babasaheb Ambedkar on his death anniversary and accused the Congress of causing injustice to the Dalit icon after Sardar Patel.
“Like Sardar Patel, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar too had to face the Congress’s injustice. His foreign education in those years was recognised even by the Maharaja Gaikwad of Baroda, but not by the Congress. For a place in Constituent Assembly, Dr Ambedkar had to go to Bengal to seek support from Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee,” he said, adding that the Congress, during its six decades of rule, did not confer the Bharat Ratna on him.
Cyclones, beware! In the land of Mahatma Gandhi, even big cyclones wither away, Modi quipped.
Mocking the Congress’s campaign of ‘Congress ave che (Congress is coming)’, he said even cyclone Ockhi, which dissipated over the Arabian Sea, did not dare to hit Gujarat.