Gujarat Polls 2022: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a stinging assault on the Congress ahead of the Gujarat Assembly election on Sunday, claiming that terrorism was at its zenith under the Congress' tenure and that the party attacked him instead of terrorists for vote bank tactics, news agency ANI reported.
Addressing the gathering in Kheda, PM Modi said: "Gujarat had long been a target of terrorism. The people of Gujarat were killed in explosions in Surat and Ahmedabad. Congress was at the Centre then, we asked them to target terrorism but they targeted me instead. Terrorism was at the peak in the country."
The Prime Minister stated that Congress views terrorism as a vote bank, and that various other parties engaged in appeasement politics have emerged.
Slamming Congress, PM Modi said: "During the Batla House encounter, Congress leaders cried in support of the terrorists. Even terrorism is a vote bank for Congress. It is not just Congress now, several such parties have risen who believe in politics of shortcut and appeasement."
Highlighting BJP government's work to eliminate the threat of terrorism, PM Modi said: "Your one vote in 2014 has created a lot of difference in killing terrorism in the country. Terrorists have to think a lot even before attacking our borders. But Congress questions our surgical strike. The youth of the state, aged up to 25 years, have never seen what a curfew looks like. I have to save them from the bomb explosions, only BJP's double-engine government can do this."
Gujarat Polls 2022
Gujarat Assembly elections are set to be held in two stages on December 1 and 5, with results announced on December 8, which overlaps with the Himachal Pradesh polls.
In the 2017 Gujarat elections, the BJP was defeated in 99 of 182 seats. The BJP has been in power for the last 27 years, with Modi serving as the state's longest-standing chief minister.
This time, the party is aiming for more than 140 seats under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and CR Patil.
The state has always been a BJP stronghold, and the party has set its eyes on regaining power for a seventh time. From 2001 to 2014, PM Modi was Gujarat's longest-serving chief minister.
(With Inputs From ANI)