Sharply escalates rhetoric to point fingers at Pakistan, calls one people to vote for 'patriots'
Gonda, Uttar Pradesh: Intensifying the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) campaign in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday invoked patriotism and hostile neighbours in his speech at Gonda, which is close to Nepal border.
For the first time, the PM also hinted at Pakistan's role behind the November 21, 2017, Indore-Patna train derailment at Kanpur. Citing the ongoing investigation, Modi alleged that the derailment, in which more than 150 people were killed, was a conspiracy and not an accident.
"Kanpur rail accident in which hundreds were killed was a conspiracy and conspirators carried it out sitting across the border ... Gonda is adjoining Nepal ... if the cross-border foes want to carry out their work, is it not necessary that more vigil is maintained in Gonda?" Modi questioned.
The change in tone marks a tactical escalation in Modi's speeches, which has gone from being focused on development to being more shrill and communal, from his kabristaan and Ramzan vs Diwali comments to Friday's Pakistan targeting. The shift also coincides with the polling shifting to the Purvanchal (eastern) part of Uttar Pradesh, which are more likely to be influenced by such polarising rhetoric.
Eleven districts, including Gonda, that account for 52 seats will go to the polls on February 27 in Phase 5 of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
The PM also took a broadside against the UP administration, saying "If such people, who will help them (conspirators) get elected from here, will Gonda be safe then, will nation be safe then?"
Continuing in the same vein, Modi asked people to only vote for 'patriotic' candidates.
"Gonda needs to elect only those who are full of patriotism, only then we can do anything good for Gonda. There should not be any mistake in this election... be it the SP or the BSP, not a single seat should go to them ... 100 per cent seats should be won by the BJP," the Prime Minister said.
Though the Bihar police had earlier suggested that Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) could be responsible for the train accident, that is yet to be established by security agencies such as the National Investigative Agency. The Uttar Pradesh police has also maintained there was no sabotage as no craters or explosives were found on the track.
Following the Gonda speech, UP police expressed surprise at the PM's charges. "NIA has so far not shared any information with us on what evidence they have found in the Kanpur case. We also heard about this in the PM's rally. We will check up with NIA," Director General of Police Javeed Ahmad was reported as saying.
The PM also reiterated his party's promise that if voted to power, BJP would eliminate corruption from the state.
Building on the Maharashtra civic body poll results on Friday, in which the BJP turned in a sterling performance across the state, Modi said that BJP has fared well in all elections post-demonetisation, be it civic polls in Odisha, Maharashtra or Chandigarh, and even panchayat polls.
Given the occasion of Mahashivratri, the Prime Minister also invoked Lord Shiva and said people, with their third eye, can see what is good for them and what is not. "The poorest of the poor can detect truth. Since I took stern steps against corruption and banned notes, big forces are out to mislead the country," he said.
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