Mumbai is a city of dreams, and Mahayuti will fulfil your dreams, said PM Modi in his last rally for the 2024 Maharashtra polls in Dadar, report Clara Lewis, Prasad Joshi & B B Nayak. He attacked Uddhav Thackeray, saying without naming his party that it had “given its remote control to the Congress”.
Modi contrasted the character of the city with what he described as the nature of the Maha Vikas Aghadi. Mumbai was forward-looking and synonymous with development, and Mumbaikars were honest and hardworking, he said, but the MVA was corrupt. He said BJP and Mahayuti have seen a dream — to make Mumbai great. Addressing a mammoth crowd, Modi said, “Give me an opportunity to serve Maharashtra again.”
Congress can’t stand OBC like me being PM: Modi
PM Narendra Modi contrasted the character of Mumbai with what he described as the nature of MVA. Mumbai was forward-looking and synonymous with development, and Mumbaikars were honest and hardworking, he said, but MVA was corrupt. He said BJP and Mahayuti have seen a dream — to make Mumbai great. He said that in order to rid the city of connectivity problems, work on projects worth lakhs of crores such as Metro, airport, highways and bridges is happening rapidly.
“For decades, Congress govt at the Centre and state did not bother to do forward planning, with the result that Mumbai started regressing. Congress’ signature is corruption, which pushed the country backward and created hurdles in the path of progress. They opposed the Atal Setu as well as the Metro,” he said, adding that while Mahayuti speaks of joining people, Congress speaks of “breaking” people.
Addressing a mammoth crowd, Modi said, “I say it with responsibility and humility, aapke sapne hi hamare sankalp hain (Your dreams are our resolutions). Modi aapke sapnon ko jeeta hai, jagta hai unko pura karne ke liye (Modi lives your dreams, stays awake to fulfil them).”
“Give me an opportunity to serve Maharashtra again. To fulfil your dreams, I need Mahayuti govt so there are no hindrances,” he added.
Mumbai, he said, has for long suffered from terrorism, and people have not forgotten the wounds. “People would travel in fear in trains and buses, unsure if they will return home. In past many years, there is a sense of security. It was the same police but a different govt. Today there is Modi. You need to think why terror acts were regular. There would be announcements on abandoned bags & tiffins. Handlers of terrorists know if they do anything, Modi will not let them go scot free, will get them even from the ends of the world,” he said.
He further said, “The Congress’ royal family hates Dalits and backward communities. They want to end SC, ST, OBC unity and cause fights within the communities. The SCs, STs, OBC unity will be destroyed by Congress once it comes to power. It will snatch away your reservation. ‘Ek hain toh safe hain (You are safe if you are one).”
In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Modi said Congress cannot tolerate an OBC like him being PM for the past 10 years. “Congress believed reservation was against the country. It considered reservation against merit. The party’s mentality and agenda remain unchanged,” he said.
In Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, he accused Congress of deliberately keeping the poor in deprivation to maintain political control over them.