Welfare of the poor top priority, says PM Modi in Hoshiarpur 

Hoshiarpur, May 30 (IANS) Stating that the welfare of the poor was his government’s top priority, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday took a pledge that he would not let anyone snatch the quota of the poor and Dalits.  

“The Congress and INDI Alliance people are agitated with this effort of mine. Their track record has been of snatching reservation from the SCs, STs and OBCs. They are insulting the spirit of the Constitution, the spirit of Baba Saheb Ambedkar. They want to take away the reservation of Dalits and Backward Classes and give it only to the Muslims,” PM Modi said at a big rally in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur town.

The PM said that he had exposed the Opposition's conspiracy and “this is why they are furious and keep abusing Modi”.

This was PM Modi’s fourth rally in Punjab, a last minute attempt to motivate the voters just hours ahead of the campaigning coming to a close for the final and seventh phase of the General Elections.

From the Hoshiarpur (Reserved seat), once a Congress bastion, the BJP has fielded Anita Som Parkash, the wife of outgoing Union Minister Som Parkash.

The Congress gave the ticket to Yamini Gomar, the AAP nominated Congress turncoat Raj Kumar Chabbewal and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) made ex-minister Sohan Singh Thandal its candidate.

Citing Guru Ravidas as his inspiration, PM Modi said, “Empowering the poor is the top priority of my government, and this is greatly inspired by Guru Ravidas.

"Guru Ravidas had said, ‘I desire a state where everyone gets food, and where people of all statuses live together’. After forming the government, we will work towards the naming of the airport in Adampur after Guru Ravidas.”

PM Modi targeted the Congress and the INDIA bloc by saying, “We are hearing a lot about the Constitution from the people of INDI Alliance. These are the same people who strangled the Constitution during Emergency.

“When in 1984, people of the Sikh community were being murdered, at that time, they did not think about the Constitution.”

Slamming the ruling AAP government, PM Modi said they have destroyed industry and farming.

He said the work on the roadmap for the first 125 days of the BJP’s third term has been completed.

An optimistic PM Modi, who gave a clarion call for making the 21st Century India’s century, said, “After decades, it is time for a full majority government at the Centre to score a hat-trick. Every Indian aligned with the Viksit Bharat dream, give us your blessings.”

Punjab will go to polls for 13 parliamentary seats on June 1.

In 2019, the BJP in alliance with the Akali Dal had contested three Lok Sabha seats (Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur), while the latter contested the remaining 10 seats.

At that time, the state ruling Congress had won eight seats -- Amritsar, Faridkot, Anandpur Sahib, Jalandhar, Khadoor Sahib, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala seats -- while the Akali Dal won Bathinda and Ferozepur and the BJP Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur seats.

The AAP won from Sangrur. In 1996, BSP founder Kanshi Ram had won this seat with the support of the Akali Dal. BSP supremo Mayawati also contested from the seat in 1992 but lost. The party still holds significant presence on the seat.