New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday made a strong defence of Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, the prime accused in the Malegaon blast case, saying the BJP nominee from Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency was being ‘defamed’ by the Congress which had also insulted Hinduism and its sages.
The Prime Minister also rubbished the Congress’ poll promise of giving up to Rs 72,000 to the 20 per cent poorest families of the country, saying this should be seen in the context of the opposition party’s track record.
He recalled the accusations he faced as Gujarat Chief Minister as he defended the candidacy of Sadhvi Pragya’s from Bhopal.
“I faced so many allegations that a wave was generated against me. If you look at newspapers and online media, you’d find lakhs of pages written against me. That’s what influenced the United States to revoke my visa,” the Prime Minister noted.
“But when the truth came out, the same United States extended an invitation to me. This is the Congress’ modus operandi to propagate lies,” he said.
The Prime Minister also referred to the court’s decision not to bar the Sadhvi from contesting elections.
“India’s age-old legacy has been tarnished by coining the term ‘Hindu terror’. This thing has to be taken head on. They said ‘chowkidar chor hai’. I challenged it upfront by becoming a chowkidar,” he said.
Attacking the opposition, “which keeps targeting me”, Modi said that he was thankful to them for having aroused people’s curiosity about him and that the people would give them a befitting reply.
“As Gujarat CM, I was painted a villain for 10-12 years…it is the Congress strategy to spread lies,” the Prime Minister said.
Recalling his days as Gujarat Chief Minister, the Prime Minister said he respected institutions and cited how an SIT was set up over the 2002 riots and how a policeman interrogated him for nine hours.
“The judiciary should be independent,” he stressed.
Criticising the Congress, the Prime Minister defended the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax Department raids on opposition politicians, saying if a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was found involved, he too should be probed.
“The question to be asked is, was cash recovered in these raids or not,” the Prime Minister said, adding the Congress governments in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan had “looted funds meant for the poor over the past six months”.
IANS