Waqf Act has no place in Constitution, Congress brought it for appeasement: Modi

New Delhi: In his victory speech at the BJP headquarters after the landslide win in Maharashtra assembly elections on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked Congress for bringing Waqf Act to appease one community.

"Waqf Board is an example of Congress' appeasement politics and there is no place for Waqf law in Constitution," PM Modi said.

Addressing a gathering at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters here, Modi said divisive forces, negative politics and dynasticism have been defeated in the Maharashtra election and bypolls in various states.

He said the people of Maharashtra have voted for stability and taught a lesson to those who tried to create instability.

The prime minister asserted that the message from the Maharashtra election is that of unity and it is also an endorsement of the "ek hai toh safe hai" slogan.

Modi also said he bows down before the people of Jharkhand and that the BJP will work more zealously for the development of the state.

"'Ek hai toh safe hai' has become the 'maha-mantra' for the entire nation and it has punished those who wanted to divide the country on caste and religious lines," he said, adding that all sections of the society have voted for the BJP.

"The Congress and its ecosystem had thought that by spreading lies in the name of the Constitution, they could divide the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) in small groups. This is a solid slap on their faces," he said.

"People have made divisive forces bite the dust. The Congress and its allies have failed to grasp the changed realities of the country's mood," the prime minister added.

He asserted that voters do not want instability and they believe in nation first and do not like those dreaming about "chair first".

The voters in Maharashtra also evaluated Congress on the basis of the false promises made in other states like Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh, he added.

"Neither their false promises nor their dangerous agenda worked in Maharashtra," Modi said.

The prime minister said the Maharashtra election also shows that only one Constitution will work in India and that was given to the people of the country by B R Ambedkar.

The Congress and its allies were again trying to create a wall of Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir, he said.

"I want to say this to the Congress and its allies that no force in the world can bring back Article 370 and insult our Constitution," Modi said.