On his first visit to the 'Devbhoomi' since the passage of the Uniform Ciivi Code (UCC) Bill in the Uttarakhand Assembly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday tore into Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying that the party which ruled the country for 60 years and has been out of power for only 10 was talking about "setting the nation ablaze".
In a veiled jibe at the Congress MP, who is seeking a resh term in the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala, PM Modi labelled as a scion of the royal Congress family.
"The prince of the royal Congress family has declared that if the country elects Modi for a third term (at the Centre), the country will go up in flames. Those who ruled the country for 60 years and has been out of power for only 10 are now talking about setting the country on fire. Wouldn't you all give a befitting reply to such people? This time, don't even allow them in the field of battle," PM Modi said at a rally at Rudrapur in Uttarakhand on Tuesday.
In another salvo at the Congress, PM Modi said they are so engrossed in appeasement that they could never give primacy to national interest.
"Congress is so engrossed in appeasement that it can never think of the national interest. This is a party that turns a blind eye to infiltrators. Conversely, the BJP, through the CAA, gave citizenship to those who believe in India. However, the Opposition, including the Congress, are standing against it. We all know that it is mostly the (persecuted) Dalits and Sikhs who crossed over into India from other countries," he said.