Mehsana: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday targeted the opposition Congress, saying it continues to live in negativity and is not ready to leave the path of hatred even when the grand Ram temple has been built in Ayodhya.
The PM was addressing the public after inaugurating the Valinath Mahadev temple in Gujarat’s Mehsana district. He also inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of various projects costing more than Rs 8,350 crore.
Modi said for a long time in independent India, the Congress created a conflict and enmity “between development and heritage.”
“If anyone is to be blamed for this, it is the same Congress which ruled the country for decades. These are the same people who made even a holy place like Somnath (temple) a cause of controversy,” he said.
The Congress did not even show the desire to hoist a religious flag at the Pavagadh temple in Gujarat’s Panchmahal district, and for decades linked the Sun temple at Modhera with vote bank politics, he said.
“These are the same people who raised questions at the existence of Lord Ram and created hurdles in the construction of his temple,” Modi said.
“And today, when a grand temple has been constructed at (Lord Ram’s) birthplace, when the entire country is happy with it, the people who live in negativity are not leaving the path of hatred,” he said.
Modi also targeted the Congress over the Air Force Station runway at Deesa (in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district), which he said will develop as a major centre of India’s security.
“As the then chief minister (of Gujarat), I wrote several letters and tried a lot for this, but the then Congress government at the Centre tried its best to create hurdles. Even the Air Force people said this location is important from the point of India’s security, but they did not listen,” he said.
“From 2004 to 2014, the Congress government kept sitting on its file. Around a year-and-a-half back, I laid the foundation stone for the project, because Modi does what he determines,” the PM said.
He also said that north Gujarat has emerged from a situation 20-25 years ago when opportunity was limited due to water scarcity, all with the effort of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
Before attending the public function, the PM also attended the consecration ceremony of the Valinath Dham Temple.
