Congress has opened all its morchas against me, but I have 'suraksha kavach' of people: PM Modi in Rewari

Rewari: Prime Minister Narendra Modi flayed the Congress on Friday over its stand on the Ram temple in Ayodhya and Article 370, and said the opposition party has opened all its "morchas" against him ahead of the Lok Sabha polls but the people are acting as his "suraksha kavach".

Addressing a public gathering after he laid the foundation of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and inaugurated and laid foundation of several projects in Rewari in Haryana worth Rs 9,770 crore, the prime minister said India has touched new heights in the world today and that it has been possible because of people's blessings.

Referring to his visit to the UAE and Qatar this week, he said the respect that India now gets from every corner is not of Modi alone, but of every Indian.

He asserted that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will win more than 400 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, due in April-May.

Modi flayed the Congress over its stand on the Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying those who used to call Lord Ram imaginary and did not want a temple to be constructed are also chanting 'Jai Siya Ram' now.

The Congress is trapped in love for one family and in Haryana too the situation is same. The party is going through its worst phase, he said.

Their leader is not able to handle a start-up, so how can they dream of running the country, he asked.

The Congress' situation is such that their senior leaders are leaving the party one after another, he said.

Those who had talked of joining hands with them are also running away now, he said, referring to the opposition INDIA bloc partners.

The situation today is such that the Congress does not even have workers left. Where they are in power, they are unable to handle the government. In Himachal Pradesh, the party-led government is facing problem to pay salaries and pensions to people. In Karnataka, the Congress government is unable to execute development schemes, he said.

The Congress thinks remaining in power was its birthright and that is why the party is hatching conspiracies against him one after another since he, a son of the poor, became prime minister, Modi said.

"But I have the blessings of god-like people (ishwar-rupi janta janardhan). Before Congress' every conspiracy, people stand up as a shield. The more Congress hatches conspiracies, the more people strengthen me and give their blessings. This time too Congress has opened all its morcha against me, but I have 'suraksha kavach' of the people of the country," he said.

The programme was attended by Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Chief Minister M L Khattar and Union Minister Rao Inderjeet Singh, among others.

Modi said he can count a number of guarantees which have been fulfilled by his government, but questioned the track record of previous Congress regimes at the Centre.

The Congress' track record is of keeping the interest of one family above that of the country and its people, keeping half of the population deprived of small needs for decades, and of biggest scams in history, he charged.

The Congress' track record is of promoting terrorism and separatism, and of weakening the Army and soldiers, he said.

"These things are important to remember because even today Congress team is the same, leader is the same, intent is same and their dedication is towards one family. So, policy will be the same in which there is loot, corruption, destruction," he said.

For decades, the Congress had created obstacles in the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which accorded special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. He said he had given a guarantee and fulfilled it by scrapping Article 370.

Despite the Congress' attempts, Article 370 is lost in pages of history. Today in Jammu and Kashmir, women, Dalits, backward and tribals are getting their rights.

That is why people have taken one more pledge and are saying 370 seats for the BJP and 400-plus for the NDA.

Modi said his first event after the BJP declared him as its prime ministerial candidate in the run-up to the 2014 general elections was in Rewari in September 2013.

"As prime ministerial candidate, I had given some guarantees." The country wanted a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya and it has been fulfilled, he said.

The consecration of the Ram Lalla idol at the temple in Ayodhya was conducted last month in the presence of the prime minister. Top Congress leaders had stayed away from the consecration ceremony, accusing the BJP of making it into a "political project" for electoral gains and asserting that religion is a "personal matter".

Modi said people are now saying that since he has come to Rewari again, the BJP-led NDA will win more than 400 seats this time -- 'Abki Baar NDA Sarkar 400 Paar' -- with people's blessings.

Seats are important in a democracy, "but for me people's blessings are the biggest asset", he added.

"Here in Rewari, I had given the guarantee to implement one rank-one pension for ex-servicemen and that was fulfilled. Congress used to lie on implementing it," he charged.

"I had also given guarantee of building AIIMS here and construction has started. Today, I have laid the foundation stone and we will also inaugurate it on completion," he said.

This will be the 22nd AIIMS.

India could successfully host the G-20 summit last year because of people's blessings, he told the gathering.

In the 10 years of his government, India rose from the eleventh spot to become the fifth largest economy in the world and it was due to people's blessings, he further said.

"I need your blessings to make India the third largest economy in my third term, in coming years," he said.

Nowadays, there is a lot of talk in the country and across the world about "Modi's guarantee", he said, adding "Rewari was the first witness to Modi's guarantee." During his visit, Modi inaugurated, dedicated to the nation and laid the foundation of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 9,770 crore related to urban transport, health, rail and tourism.

To be built at a cost of about Rs 1,650 crore, the AIIMS-Rewari will be developed on 203 acres of land in Majra Bhalkhi village.