With just a day left for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally in Coimbatore where he urged the first-time voters to dedicate their votes to Pulwama martyrs and Balakot bravehearts
Coimbatore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday addressed a rally in Coimbatore and urged first-time voters to cast their first vote to “strengthen the hands of nationalists.”
"Just like people devote their first salary for something pure and memorable, I urge you all to devote your first vote for a higher cause, for a better future of the nation, to strengthen the hands of all nationalists," Modi said.
PM Modi recalled the 1998 bombings in Coimbatore in which 58 people were killed and he then compared the weak response that was given by the Congress and DMK then to the BJP-led NDA government's reaction to the recent terror attacks.
Modi also said that under the BJP, India "will pay back the terrorist forces in the same coin and with compound interest”.
He further stated that he doesn’t understand why the opposition is hell bent on questioning the Army and the Air Force.
“Opposition has started asking why is Modi talking about nationalism. Is it a crime to be a nationalist?" questioned Modi.
Modi said that the manifesto of the Congress made terrorists happy. “All anti-India forces were waiting for the Congress manifesto. Those who suspect the Army and the Air Force can never protect the nation.”
He also hit out at the stand of the Congress and CPI-M on the issue of Sabarimala temple in Kerala.
"Kerala isn't far from here. The Congress and communists are together in destroying the culture of Kerala. Their stand on Sabarimala has vote bank politics written all over it. I want to tell them, the force of the communist will not be enough to destroy our faith," he said.
The Sabarimala temple and surrounding areas witnessed a string of protests since October last year over the Supreme Court's decision to quash restrictions on the entry of women aged between 10 and 50 years.
Terming that a vote for the Congress and DMK is a vote for higher taxes, Modi said that the NDA has served the middle class and kept inflation in check.
“The Congress party did not even once mention middle class in its manifesto. Their leaders are calling middle class ‘selfish’ and saying that they have to pay more taxes. The NDA will ensure that the hard-earned money of the middle class is devoted to the empowerment of the nation and not to further the vote bank politics of the Congress,” said Modi.
Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to be conducted in seven phases from April 11 to May 19. Voting in Tamil Nadu will take place on April 18. The counting of votes is on May 23.
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