Sundargarh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Saturday here that while the ‘chowkidar’ has demonstrated courage to hit terrorist safe havens inside Pakistan, the Congress wants to dilute the powers of the Armed Forces.
The Prime Minister has on several occasion said he’s the ‘chowkidar’ (watchman) of the country and serves to protect its best interests. “The chowkidar is fighting terrorists, while the Congress is working to dilute the powers of the Armed Forces,” he said at a rally in this tribal-dominated district, referring to the party’s plan to review the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.
“There were governments in the past too, but they could never think of undertaking surgical strikes. They did not have the courage to cross the border by aircraft and kill terrorists,” the Prime Minister said as the crowd cheered.
The Prime Minister said people have to decide whether they want to choose an honest and principled government committed to development of all, or a corrupt and unprincipled one. “This time lotus will bloom in Odisha. The BJP will taste victory. I can say with certainty that maximum number of lotuses will bloom in the state,” Modi asserted.
“Similarly, the BJP will again come to power at the Centre as the country needs a strong and decisive government to ensure national security as well as speedy development,” he added.
Hitting out at the BJD government in Odisha, Modi stated said its intentions are not good and the 2019 polls are significant for the future of Odisha as well as country.
He also said the BJP has been guided by stalwarts such as Deendayal Upadhyaya, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani, Jagannathrao Joshi, Rajmata Scindia and Murli Manohar Joshi.
“I salute every worker of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP is the biggest democratic organisation in the world. We are now a strong alternative to the Congress and other parties which were born out of it,” Modi said while mentioning that Saturday was the 39th foundation day of the party.
The Prime Minister called upon the people of Odisha to bring a ‘double engine’ government by voting the BJP to power both at the Centre and in the state in order to ensure speedy and balanced development.
This was Modi’s third visit to Odisha in a week in the run-up to the elections. He had addressed rallies in Jeypore and Bhawanipatna, March 29 and April 2, respectively.
Assembly election in Odisha will be held along with Lok Sabha polls in four phases April 11, 18, 23 and 29.
Earlier in the day Modi had said that the people of Odisha will defeat both the ruling BJD and the opposition Congress in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Odisha’s election results will surprise the entire country. BJP will win the polls with record number of seats. People will reject both BJD and Congress,” Modi said in a Twitter post ahead of his election rally.
PTI
