Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses Kartar Nagar to address a rally in New Delhi on January 29, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
Taking a jibe at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (January 29, 2025) addressed his first political rally in support of BJP candidates from Chandni Chowk, Northeast and East Delhi. Attacking the AAP over its comments of ‘poisoning’ in the Yamuna river by the Haryana government, Mr. Modi said: “The AAP-da has crossed limits of lying. They are putting nasty allegations against Haryana, and the country will not forget this. Haryana won’t forget this.”
Mr. Modi asked: “Are the people of Haryana not human enough. Are they don’t have kids and families in Delhi. How can Haryana mix poison in the water of their own kids?” He said that in Delhi, the power centre of the country, where even Prime Minister himself sits, all Ministers, international embassies and Chief Justice of India reside, and the poor people, all of them drink the same water from Haryana.
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“Can anyone think to poison Modi? Has Haryana BJP mixed poison in water? What are you saying? It is in Indians’ character to forgive mistakes but neither Delhi nor India forgives sins committed with ill-intention,” the Prime Minister said.
‘Yamuna ji doesn’t vote’
Urging the people of Haryana, Purvanchal (Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) and Uttarakhand to vote out the AAP, Mr. Modi said: “Three elections have passed, but they [AAP] have not cleaned Yamuna. And you know what they say ‘Yamuna ji doesn’t vote, so we won’t clean the Yamuna.’ They want our Purvanchali brethren pray during Chhath puja in a dirty Yamuna every year.”
Continuing the attack, Mr. Modi said: “It is the 21st century, and 25 years of it have gone. In Delhi, first with the Congress for 14 years and now with 11 years with the AAP, you have seen the capital not being developed. For the last 25 years, these two together have ruined two generations of the capital. Despite such long rules, Delhi has not changed, its problems are the same.”
He questioned the audience: “who can change this fate of Delhi”. “It is your vote that will get us rid of these problems. We have to finish the pending work for the last 11 years and work towards development for the next 20 years.”
“Delhi wants a double engine government,” the Prime Minister said, adding that “I have been working for the rest of the country, this time give me the opportunity to work for Delhi. Press the lotus button everywhere, see how I will take care of you like you are part of my own family.”
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Cites Charles Sobhraj
Comparing AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal to the likes of Charles Sobhraj, without mentioning Mr. Kejriwal’s name, Mr. Modi said: “You may have heard of Charles Sobhraj, he was a known thug. He was such an expert at duping people with innocence that every time people would get duped by him. That is why one has to remain cautious of such people.”
Reassuring the people that the BJP would not stop the ongoing welfare schemes in the capital, such as free electricity and water, Mr. Modi said, “We are not the party that shuts down welfare schemes. We are the people who give them a stronger system.”
“In this country, we have a tradition of respect. Even previous governments such as the Congress continued schemes from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led BJP government and when we came to power, we continued the Congress’s MGNREGA despite the media writing that we may not do so, and made it better,” the Prime Minister said.
Mr. Modi accused the AAP and the Congress of joining hands behind closed doors to trick the people into forming a government of their choosing. He said the AAP lied constantly, and “they know they will lose, so they are asking people to vote for Congress.”
The Prime Minister said the AAP had done no work in the 10 years of government, and it disrespected the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) by not tabling its reports to hide scams.
Published – January 29, 2025 03:34 pm IST