Jharkhand is home to beautiful mountains but now making news for mounds of notes: PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at the JMM-Congress alliance on Tuesday over ‘flourishing’ corruption in Jharkhand under their watch and also accused them of looting the state from all sides.

Addressing a rally in Jharkhand’s Dumka, PM Modi mocked at the ‘misrule’ of JMM-Congress and said that the state was drawing attention more for its ‘mountains of cash’ rather than its picturesque and beautiful mountains.

“JMM and Congress are looting Jharkhand from every side. There are so many beautiful mountains here, but Jharkhand is being discussed for the mountain of notes,” he told the gathering.

PM Modi’s caustic jibe comes in the backdrop of the recovery of Rs 35 crore cash from the aide of the personal secretary of Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam.

The PM further accused the INDI Alliance of pursuing a dangerous formula for anti-national politics.

“Their formula is simple, engage in extreme communal politics, appeasement politics, patronise separatists, defend terrorists and accuse anyone who opposes them of creating a Hindu-Muslim divide,” he said.

He further said that INDI Alliance wants to give religion-based reservations to the Muslim community and added that he won’t allow the rights of OBCs, SCs and STs to be looted.

“My firm stance on religion-based reservation has left the INDI Alliance unsettled,” he added.

PM Modi further said that INDI Alliance wants to ‘scare’ him by tarnishing his image but they don’t understand that “I won’t let their hateful propaganda succeed”.

He also said that prior to 2014, corruption and scams were the order of the day but all that changed after the BJP government came to power.

“You blessed Modi in 2014. Then the whole country was fed up with the misrule of Congress, scams used to happen every day, Congress was busy 24X7 in looting money in the name of the poor. Modi came and stopped all that. Today, public money is used in public interest,” he told the gathering.

Underscoring his commitment to uplifting marginalised communities, PM Modi said that since he comes from a humble background, he understands the needs of deprived classes including Dalits and tribal population, who have been facing state apathy for years and explained how his aspirational districts scheme was centred on transforming such regions.

“In Jharkhand, Santhal Pargana is witnessing unprecedented progress and new dimensions of growth,” he told the crowd.

He also underlined his vision for Viksit Bharat and sought people’s support for continuing the country’s transformative journey.