PRAYAGRAJ: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday was in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj, formerly known as Allahabad, where he inaugurated various development projects ahead of the Kumbh Mela, which begins from January 15. While addressing a gathering here, Modi charged the Congress with threatening the judiciary and urged people to remain wary of such a party. Referring to the Congress, Modi said the party which has ruled this country for the longest period has tried to influence the judiciary and built pressure on the institution.

"Their actions and conspiracies are proving it again and again that they (Congress) consider themselves above country, democracy, judiciary and public. Two days ago, we saw another example of it. Stay alert and safe from such people and parties," Modi said.

Modi accused the Congress of weakening each and every democratic institution that refused to toe its line. "The party that ruled the nation for the longest duration has always considered itself above the law, judiciary, every agency and even above the nation. This party destroyed every institution that didn’t function according to it."

"The people of Uttar Pradesh should recall the day when the topmost leader of this party insulted the mandate of people here. The nation will never forget the day they tried to end democracy and imposed emergency in the country," he said.

Earlier in the day, Modi tore into the Congress in Sonia Gandhi's home turf Rae Bareli, saying the party was "agitated" and telling "lies" as there was no "Quattrocchi uncle" or Christian Michel in BJP government's defence deals and slammed it for trying to create "distrust" against the judiciary. This was his first public comments after the Supreme Court gave a clean chit to the BJP government on the Rafale deal.

It was also the prime minister's first public meeting in Sonia Gandhi's home turf after the BJP lost the three heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the Congress and its allies.

In all out attack on the Congress, Modi accused the Congress of aligning with forces which do not want to see India's defence forces becoming strong. "There are two facets before the country...one is of the government which is making every possible effort to augment the strength of defence forces, and the second is of those forces which want to weaken the country at every cost," he said.

The prime minister said people were witnessing that "the Congress is aligning with those forces which do not want our defence forces to become stronger." Citing a couplet from the Ramcharit Manas, he said there were some people who only accept lies and share these with other people.

"For these very people the defence ministry, the defence minister, officers of the Indian Air Force, government of France, are all lies...now the Supreme Court also appears to be a lie to them," Modi said in his 50-minute address, nearly 30 minutes of which were devoted to the Rafale deal.