Supplier of ‘aatank’ now struggling for ‘aata’: Modi takes dig at Pakistan

“This election is to make the country a major world power. Today, there is a BJP government in the country that is neither intimidated by anyone nor bows down to anyone. Our principle is Nation First,” he said, adding that “many many countries in the world are in a bad shape while many countries are on the verge of bankruptcy”.

“A neighbouring country of India, which was a supplier of terrorism, is now struggling for flour. In such global conditions, India is developing the fastest in the world. Today, India is being praised all over the world, which makes every Indian proud,” the PM said.

Attacking Congress over doing “vote bank politics” by rejecting the invitation to the consecration ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya, Modi said even the petitioners fighting for two decades for Babri Masjid had attended the event, referring to Iqbal Ansari, a former litigant in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case.

“The Congress and the INDI alliance are engaged in insulting our faith. These people say that our Sanatan is dengue and malaria. They are also staunch opponents of the grand temple of Lord Shri Ram that has been built in Ayodhya. These people call the worship of Lord Shri Ram a sham. The opposition leaders made these statements on the day of Lord Ram’s Surya Tilak on Ram Navami,” Modi said.

“The leaders of the INDI alliance did not attend the Pran Pratishtha and rejected the invitation for vote bank politics. The Ansari family had been fighting the case in favour of the Babri Masjid for two generations against the Hindus in the court. Iqbal Ansari and his family fought the battle for centuries, but when the Supreme Court decided in favour of the Hindus, even they welcomed the verdict… and Ansari himself participated in the foundation stone laying and Pran Pratishtha of the Ram temple,” he said.

Modi also hit out at the Congress for allegedly “keeping India’s defence sector weak for decades”. “The Congress governments also looked more at their own benefit while buying weapons for the forces. These people put in all their might to weaken the Indian Air Force and deprive it of Rafale aircraft. If the Congress government was there today, even the indigenously-built Tejas fighter plane would not have taken to the skies,” he said.

On the other hand, he said that the “BJP government has made the Indian Army self-reliant and empowered” and claimed that “India’s identity is becoming that of a country exporting weapons to other countries”. “Last year, India exported weapons worth Rs 21,000 crore to other countries. India is also moving towards exporting the BrahMos missile,” Modi said.