STATE TIMES NEWS
Dausa (Rajasthan): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the Congress of underestimating the valour of the armed forces and said its governments did not carry out development work in border areas, fearing the enemy could exploit the new roads to advance into the country.
He was addressing a BJP rally here, soon after a ceremony around a kilometre away to inaugurate the first phase of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, which he said would accelerate the development of Rajasthan as well.
Modi also accused the Congress government in Rajasthan, where assembly polls are due this year-end, of lacking vision and hindering the state’s development, and said its plans and announcements remained just on paper.
Modi said Rajasthan would have progressed better if it had the double-engine government of the BJP, referring to the possibility of his party being in power both at the Centre and in the state.
He alleged previous Congress governments did not carry out development work in border villages and areas “because they were scared, and they have said in parliament that what will happen if the enemy comes on the roads made by us.”
“The Congress has always underestimated the valour and bravery of our soldiers. Our forces know how to stop the enemy at the border and give them a befitting reply,” he said. The prime minister said his government has created a network of roads and rail in border areas in the last nine years.
Targeting Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for reading excerpts from previous year’s Budget while presenting the state’s 2023-24 Budget on Friday, Modi said, “Anybody can make a mistake, but this shows the Congress has neither vision nor gravitas (wajan) and its plans and announcements remained just on paper.”
The PM’s rally in Dausa in the politically significant eastern Rajasthan is being seen as a BJP move to strengthen the party’s prospects in the region dominated by the Meena and Gurjar communities.
The BJP mobilised its supporters and workers from eastern Rajasthan for this rally. State BJP chief Satish Poonia visited Dausa, Karauli, Sawai Madhopur, Bharatpur districts before the rally to ensure the event is well-attended.
In the 2018 assembly elections, most seats in eastern Rajasthan were won by the Congress. The BJP is looking to strengthen its base in the region.
Before addressing the rally, Modi inaugurated the first phase of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. The PM pressed the button of a remote to mark the foundation laying/inauguration of four projects worth more than Rs 18,000 crore.