"Congress is such a vine that has neither roots nor land, it dries up one who supports it": PM Modi

Prime Minister said that Congress did not allow Maharashtra to develop adding that it was responsible for the problems in Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing a Vijay Sankalp meeting in Parbhani, Prime Minister Modi said, "Beware of the Congress and the INDI Alliance! Congress is such a vine, that has neither roots nor land, it dries up the one who supports it, Congress was responsible for partition. Congress was responsible for the Kashmir issue. Congress did not allow the implementation of the Constitution in Kashmir on the pretext of Article 370! Congress snatched away the rights of Dalits. Congress never allowed Maharashtra and Marathwada to develop."

Prime Minister compared the media debate of the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and said that a clear shift has been noted in these five years as earlier media used to debate only about "cross-border terrorism".

"In 2014, when I was contesting the Lok Sabha elections for the first time, what were the topics of discussion during that time? What were the topics covered in the newspapers? What were the topics discussed on TV? At that time, the talk was of the fear of terrorist attacks. Every day there was news of bomb blasts. Five years later, in 2019, the discussion of cross-border attacks stopped and the discussion of surgical strikes started, and 'Yeh toh Modi hai ghar mein ghus kar marega' started..." he said.

Prime Minister further said that the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state ignored the problems of Maharashtra.

"The entire area of Marathwada is of farming. Black cotton, soybean, and jowar bajra are important sources of income. But Congress and MVA did not understand your troubles. The biggest challenge in this area is irrigation. During the NDA government, the Jalyukt Shivar Scheme was launched but MVA stopped this scheme," PM said.

Prime Minister also mentioned that Maharashtra is benefitting from the Centre's schemes.

"Today everyone is getting medicines at an 80 per cent discount from Jan Aushadhi Kendras in Parbhani. More than 1.25 lakh women have been given Ujjwala gas connections here without any discrimination," he added.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 23 out of 25 seats it contested in alliance with the undivided Shiv Sena. Elections to the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra are being held in five phases.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking his third consecutive term, while the opposition bloc-INDIA- a coalition of opposition parties formed to take on the BJP in the general elections, is eyeing ousting him from power.The results of the seven-phase polls will be announced on June 4.

The second phase will be held on April 26 and the remaining phases will be May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1 accordingly. The last general elections in 2019 were also held in seven phases. (ANI)