Haryana Assembly polls: PM Modi evokes ‘2016 surgical strike’, targets Congress

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being greeted during a public meeting ahead of the Haryana Assembly elections, in Hisar, on September 28, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (September 28, 2024) brought forth the ‘2016 surgical strike’ to corner the Congress party in the run to the Assembly election in Haryana, accusing the Congress of raising fingers surrounding the credibility of Indian defense forces.

“Today is September 28, when the surgical strike was carried out. India firmly conveyed to bosses of terrorists that India now hits by entering their homes. But what did the Congress do? They (Congress) asked our Army to give proof of a surgical strike. Instead of believing in our army, Congress believed in our enemies. Would nationalist people of Haryana tolerate the Congress,” said Mr. Modi, addressing a rally in Haryana’s Hisar.

“For years, Congress kept making false promises about the ‘One-Rank One-Pension’ scheme for army men but never implemented it. The OROP is an example to show that Congress never works toward the welfare of our army and soldiers. The BJP came to power and immediately implemented the OROP,” he said.

Targeting the Congress, Mr. Modi said the party is a synonym for “instability”. “Wherever the Congress is present, there can never be stability. The party that can’t even unite its own leaders how would it bring stability in the State? Everyone can see the tussle among Congress leaders for becoming Chief Minister… In Haryana, every faction of the party is fighting against each other, and amid this factionalism, the doors for ‘Dalits and backward’ are closed,” said Mr. Modi.

Mr. Modi accused the Congress of being ‘anti-Dalit’. “In Haryana during the Congress regime, Dalits faced atrocities, but the Congress kept quiet. The Dalit community will never forget these atrocities and would never forgive the Congress,” he said.

He said Congress is the most selfish party, for which the farmer community has always been nothing beyond a ‘vote bank’.

“The Congress has never been serious about solving farmer’s problems, it’s only the BJP that works towards their welfare. We are giving ₹6,000 annually under ‘PM Kisan Samman Nidi’ to farmers because we respect them. The Congress is promising the moon to farmers in Haryana but I want to ask them in Karnataka, Telangana, and Himachal Pradesh, where they are in power, why they don’t fulfill their promises. In Karnataka, during the present regime of the Congress, hundreds of farmers have died by suicide, the truth is the Congress is not bothered about farmers’ lives, they only make false promises and have a history of betrayal,” he said.