No power can restore Article 370 in J&K: Modi

Dhule: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused the Congress-led INDIA bloc of wanting to take the Constitution out of Jammu and Kashmir and asserted that no power in the world can restore Article 370 there. He also accused the Congress of pitting one caste against another and cautioned people to stay united. "Ek hai, toh safe hai," he said.

Addressing his first rally in Maharashtra for the November 20 assembly elections, Modi said the INDIA grouping is flaunting blank books passing them off as the Constitution to provoke Dalits and Adivasis. The PM said the Congress and its allies should not encourage the “Pakistan agenda” and speak the language of separatists. The agenda won't succeed till he has people's blessings, said Modi. “Only Ambedkar's constitution will be followed in J&K .You must have seen on TV how a resolution was moved in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly on bringing back Article 370 and when BJP MLAs protested, they were thrown out. The country and Maharashtra should understand this,” Modi said.

The BJP's star campaigner also accused the Congress of playing a dangerous game of dividing castes and communities. If ST (Scheduled Tribes), SC (Scheduled Castes) and OBCs (Other Backward Classes) stay united, the Congress politics will be over, he said.

“The Congress wants to pit one caste against another and weaken the unity of SC, ST and OBCs. Since Nehru's time Congress and his family opposed reservation and now their fourth generation ‘yuvraj' (prince) is working for caste divisions. You must realise that ‘ek hai toh safe hai' (we will be safe if we are united),” he said. Earlier, Modi alleged, the Congress played politics over religion which led to India's partition and now the party is indulging in the politics of caste. There can be no bigger conspiracy against the country than this, he said at the rally in the north Maharashtra district.

Modi quipped that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), as a vehicle that has neither wheels nor brakes and there is a fight there to sit in the driver's seat. Recalling his affinity with Dhule and Maharashtra, Modi said whenever he has asked something from the people of the state, they have been gracious.

“I sought your blessings in 2014 to end the 15 years of misrule of the previous government. You graciously ensured that BJP got unprecedented success. Today, I am starting my campaign in Maharashtra from Dhule. Each and every candidate of Mahayuti seeks your blessings,” he said. “I assure you that the pace at which Maharashtra’s development has gained in the last two-and-a-half years will not be allowed to stop,” said the PM.

In the coming five years, Modi said, Maharashtra’s progress and development will be taken to new heights. “Only Mahayuti can provide good governance. The Maha Vikas Aghadi is a vehicle that has no wheels, no brakes and there is a fight to sit in the driver’s seat. One can hear different kinds of horns,” he said.

MVA has no intention to work for the development of people and the state and the goal of its leaders is to loot the public, he said. MVA was formed out of deceit and the state has seen the work that they have done. MVA was in power for two years before Eknath Shinde’s rebellion in Shiv Sena sunk it and split the Bal Thackeray-founded party in June 2022.

“The MVA put roadblocks on development projects and stopped every scheme which could have improved people’s lives. The situation changed when, with your blessings, the Mahayuti government was formed and new heights of development were seen,” he said.

Maharashtra’s lost pride and belief in development was back on the path, he said. “People should remember that Mahayuti aahe tar gati aahe… Maharashtra chi pragati aahe (if Mahayuti is there, Maharashtra’s progress and development is assured). The manifesto of Mahayuti – BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP – is a roadmap to development. It speaks of economic progress, social equality, security and is all-inclusive,” he said.

“Empowerment of women is important for Viksit Maharashtra. Previous governments stopped women from progressing and Modi and Mahayuti removed all roadblocks and provided them several opportunities,” he said.

The state’s ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme is being talked about in the entire country, but the Congress ecosystem is working against it and even took it to court, he said. “If voted to power, MVA will scrap the scheme. Every woman should be wary of the MVA,” he said.