This poll is for my mission, not ambition, says PM; dares Cong to restore Article 370

Junagadh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the ongoing Lok Sabha elections were not for satisfying his personal ambitions, but for fulfilling his “mission.” A strong and stable government was important not only for the country but also for the world, he said at a poll rally in Junagadh in Gujarat.

“These elections are not for my ambition, as people have fulfilled that ambition in 2014. The 2024 elections are for Modi’s mission,” the PM said. Accusing the opposition Congress of having a “dangerous mentality”, Modi said its manifesto is written in the language of Muslim League. For Congress, this election was all about saving its existence and the party was taking help of its “Mazhabi vote bank” to stay afloat, the Prime Minister claimed.

In his address, he challenged the Congress to restore Article 370 in Jammu-Kashmir, abolish the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the law that bans triple talaq. “I have buried Article 370. It is gone now. I want to challenge the Congress’ royal family and its ‘shehzada’ (a jibe at the Gandhi family and Rahul Gandhi) that if it is your hidden agenda, then come out in the open and tell people you will restore Article 370,” he said. “I want to see how much courage they (Congress) have to insult the Constitution drafted by Babasaheb Ambedkar. You (Congress) will fail because this (standing in your way) is Modi,” the PM asserted.

Referring to the controversy surrounding the Katchatheevu island, he said during the Congress rule, the Union government had no idea about the exact number of islands India had. “I then got a satellite survey done and found that we have 1,300 islands. Some of them are as big as Singapore. We will develop some of them for tourism purposes,” said Modi.

A Congress leader had recently spoken about separating south India and forming a new nation, while those in the opposition INDI alliance also make statements on similar lines, he said.