Congress had handed over Haryana to 'dalal' and 'damad', says PM Modi at Gohana rally

Gohana, Sep 25 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Congress, saying that the grand old party during its helm had handed over the state to 'dalals' (middlemen) and 'damads' (sons-in-law). 

Stepping up the attack, PM Modi, who returned from his three-day hectic tour of the US on Tuesday night, in a power-packed election speech in Gohana town in Haryana's Sonipat district, said there was no party more "dishonest" than the Congress.

"Congress ne Haryana ko dalalon aur damadon ke hawale kar diya (the state was handed over to brokers and son-in-law," he said.

Appealing to vote for the BJP for its record third straight win in the October 5 Assembly polls as the state is now a hub of multinational firms, PM Modi in a frontal attack on the Gandhi family raked up Robert Vadra's controversial land deals in the state during the Congress government from 2004 to 2014 said, "Haryana ko damad and dalal se bachana hai".

He said: "As the Assembly elections in Haryana are approaching, the Congress is getting weaker. The support for BJP in Haryana is increasing...The entire Haryana is saying ‘phir ek baar BJP sarkar'."

Also he warned, "Remember, if the Congress comes to power by mistake, they will ruin Haryana with their infighting. There is a fight going on in Congress here. In Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, their Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister are fighting."

"Voting for the Congress means putting Haryana's stability, and development at stake," PM Modi claimed.

"The world's trust in India has increased in the past 10 years. When I went to New York, many people from Haryana who grew up in America performed the Haryanavi traditional dance to welcome me...India is progressing after getting free from corruption…Big companies from across the world are eager to invest in India.

"When these companies will invest in India, it will benefit the farmers and youth of Haryana. The BJP has announced that many industrial cities will be established in Haryana to provide job opportunities to the youth," the Prime Minister said.

Acknowledging a boy amongst the crowd, who had made a portrait of PM Modi, he asked the boy from the dais to handover the photo to his security personnel and promised to write a letter to him.

Taking a jibe at the Congress for "ignoring" the Dalits, PM Modi said, "Today, the Dalit community of Haryana is once again observing the drama that the Congress is playing. The Congress has always kept Dalits, OBCs (Other Backward Classes) and tribals deprived of participation. It was Baba Saheb Ambedkar who granted reservations to the Dalits. Otherwise, like the OBCs, Dalits would also have to wait for Congress’ defeat to claim their rights."

After wrapping up the three-day "successful" US visit, Prime Minister Modi held his second public meeting in Haryana to woo electorates of 22 Assembly constituencies.

Several senior BJP leaders, including Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, shared the dais with the Prime Minister.

The PM’s rally is seen as a crucial political platform as 18 Assembly constituencies falling under the Sonipat and Rohtak Lok Sabha constituencies and four Assembly constituencies of the Panipat district were covered.

Prime Minister Modi held his first rally in Kurukshetra on September 15 by launching the BJP's campaign to retain the helm in the state for the third straight term.

In the 2019 Assembly elections, the BJP, which won 40 seats, well below the 75-plus target, and was six short of a majority in the 90-member Assembly, announced an alliance with the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) led by Dushyant Chautala, a great-grandson of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal.

The rival Congress had won 31 seats, while the less-than-year-old JJP, which broke away from the state's once major regional Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) owing to family disputes, won 10 seats.

Seven Independents and one each of the INLD and the Haryana Lokhit Party had also won.