Rahul insulted rajas, mum on nawabs, it's Congress' appeasement politics: PM Modi

Belagavi/Bengaluru/Davanagere/Hosapete: Seizing upon Congress MP Rahul Gandhi ’s remark about “rajas and maharajas who would loot the poor” as an insult to the legacy of greats, PM Narendra Modi said on Sunday that the party’s “appeasement habit” prevents it from speaking in the same vein about “atrocities by nawabs, nizams, sultans and badshahs”.

“Congress’s shehzada said our rajas and maharajas back in the day were ruthless. He has insulted those like Chhatrapati Shivaji and Kittur’s Rani Chennamma, whose bravery and patriotism still fill us with national pride. Does he (Rahul) not know of the royal family of Mysuru, who we all regard highly and are proud of?” he said at a rally in Karnataka’s Belagavi.

Modi said it was obvious that Rahul’s statements were “carefully calibrated” and “meant to appease a particular vote bank”.

“Congress seems to have forgotten the grave excesses committed by Aurangzeb, who destroyed thousands of our temples. Shehzada does not talk about him and others who destroyed our pilgrimage sites, looted them, killed our people and slaughtered our livestock...Congress is now in alliance with parties that glorify Aurangzeb,” he said.

The PM’s tirade against Rahul and Congress continued at Sirsi, Davanagere and Hosapete as he zipped across north Karnataka in under eight hours, campaigning for support to BJP in the 14 Lok Sabha seats that will vote on May 7.

Modi said forces inimical to India’s growth favoured a “weak” govt at the Centre so that they could carry out their nefarious plan . He said in Karnataka, the future of lakhs of students was in jeopardy after the Congress govt summarily scrapped National Education Policy.

Modi cited instances of an ST woman being paraded naked in Hosa Vantamuri village near Belagavi, the murder of a Jain seer in Chikkodi, and a blast at a Bengaluru cafe as proof of law and order deteriorating in Karnataka with each passing day.

He doubled down on his accusation against Congress on inheritance tax, iterating that the party intends to scrutinise all properties, including land, vehicles, bank lockers, gold and mangalsutras, to distribute among its vote bank.

(With inputs from Ravi Uppar, Anil Gejji, Basavaraj Maralihalli and Chamaraj Savadi)