ARINDAM DEY via Getty Images
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed his first election rally in Chhattisgarh on Friday, which will witness the first phase of polling on 12 November, and launched a scathing attack on the Congress.
He accused the Congress of backing 'Urban Maoists' who he said have ruined the lives of poor Adivasi youth.
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Here are the five key points from his public meeting in Jagdalpur on Friday:
- Modi said that Congress makes fun of Adivasis. "I don't know why Congress makes fun of adivasis. Once I had gone for a rally in North East India and wore a traditional adivasi headgear, but Congress leaders made fun of it. This was an insult of Adivasi culture," he was quoted as saying by PTI.
- Modi termed the Naxals as "monsters with evil mindset" and said earlier governments did not do enough for the development of Bastar. He asked the Congress why it supports 'Urban Maoists' when the government takes action against them. "The 'Urban Maoists' who live in air conditioned homes in the cities, look clean and whose children study abroad, remote control the Adivasi children in the Naxal-dominated areas," he was quoted as saying by PTI.
- Modi said he has come to Chhattisgarh repeatedly to fulfil former prime minister and BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee's, dreams for the state. He further said that he will not rest till he fulfils Vajpayee's dreams for a prosperous Chhattisgarh.
- The prime minister also paid tributes to the Doordarshan cameraman who was killed in a Naxal attack last month. "An innocent cameraman of Doordarshan, Achyutanand Sahu, who was doing his duty was killed by Maoists. He was sharing the dreams of people of Bastar with other people across the country, what was his fault?" Modi asked.
- Modi also urged the people to vote for the BJP and ensure that the saffron party wins all seats in the Bastar region. "If anyone else wins, it will be a blot on Bastar's dream," he said.