Launching an acerbic attack on the Congress on his home turf of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the party is a “fake factory” and accused it of using doctored videos to mislead the people during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
In the backdrop of a deepfake video of Home Minister Amit Shah in which he purportedly advocates for the abolition of reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), which was allegedly shared by some Congress social media handles, PM Modi claimed on Wednesday that the party’s videos, words and promises are all fake.
Addressing a rally in Banaskantha, the Prime Minister said in Hindi, “The Congress has opened a market of fake videos. They know that whatever they are saying isn’t working in the elections so they are now making fake videos. Think about it, a party that has ruled the country for 60 years, that has had so many Prime Ministers, can’t speak the truth to people.”
Taking a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his oft-stated call for a “mohabbat ki dukaan (shop of love)” in a market of hate, the PM added, “What they used to call a ‘mohabbat ki dukaan‘ is actually a fake factory. Their videos, words, promises, slogans and intentions are all fake. Modi is a tea-seller, the son of poor people… if you want to fight, come let’s have a bout (“aao do-do haath kar lo“). This rice-daal eater will show you what he’s capable of. If you have the courage, launch a frontal attack. Stop this game of fake videos.”
Asserting that people will eventually realise they are being misguided and punish the Congress for it, the PM said the party has been trying to say that the BJP is seeking 400 Lok Sabha seats to change the Constitution and tinker with reservation.
“Don’t they know that with the support of the Biju Janata Dal and the YSR Congress Party, who were not part of the NDA, I already had 400 MPs for five years? But we were not born to commit this sin, nor is this the road we want to take. We will maintain the purity of the Constitution given by Babasaheb Ambedkar and the other framers and protect it. Till Modi is alive, I will not allow the Congress to play the game of reservation based on religion,” he said.
The Prime Minister assured his audience that the reservations given to SCs, STs, OBCs and the poor among the general category were given based on the Constitution and that nobody could change it.
Repeating the “shehzade” (prince) jibe against Rahul Gandhi, PM Modi said the Congress wanted to snatch reservation from Dalits, tribals, OBCs and the poor and give it to Muslims on the basis of religion.
“They have started an experiment in Andhra Pradesh, in Karnataka, they want to take away reservation for their vote bank. In Karnataka, they declared Muslims OBCs and looted the reservation given to OBCs. This is why they are misleading people,” he claimed, adding that the INDIA alliance should declare that they will not give reservation based on religion.
All 26 seats in Gujarat will vote in the third phase on May 7. Results will be declared on June 4.
