Narendra Modi jabs Congress: 'Not contesting even minimum number of seats' to form govt

PM Narendra Modi also attacked former minister and Congress leader, Sushil Kumar Shinde.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday doubled down on his criticism of NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar, as he attacked the latter over the plight of sugarcane farmers. He also attacked the Congress, urging the masses to not vote for a party that is not even contesting the number of seats required to form a government on its own at the Centre.

"When a big Maharashtra leader was Union agriculture minister, farmers used to make rounds of sugarcane commission for their arrears," PM Modi said at a rally in Maharashtra.

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PM Modi also attacked former minister and Congress leader, Sushil Kumar Shinde. He said a very big leader had taken an oath 15 years ago that he would provide water to the drought-hit areas of Maharashtra. He said the time has come to punish the leader for not fulfilling the promise.

"15 years ago, a very big leader came here to contest elections. Then he took an oath and said that he would provide water to the drought-affected areas here. But he did not fulfil his promise, and now the time has come to punish him," PM Narendra Modi said.

Sushil Kumar Shinde's daughter Praniti Shinde is the Congress candidate from Solapur.

PM Modi accused the Congress of making people yearn for every drop of water.

"Be it Vidarbha or Marathwada...this sin of making people yearn for every drop of water has been going on for years. The country gave Congress a chance to rule for 60 years. In these 60 years, many countries of the world have changed completely, but Congress could not provide water to the farmers' fields...In 2014, there were about 100 irrigation projects that were stuck for decades, out of which 26 projects were from Maharashtra. Just think, what a big betrayal Congress has done to Maharashtra," he added.

At the Malshiras rally Tuesday, PM Modi appealed to the masses to not vote for a party "that is not contesting even the minimum number of seats needed for a simple majority in the Lok Sabha".

What PM Modi had said

Earlier this week, PM Modi had called Sharad Pawar a wandering soul.

"There is a 'bhatakti atma' (wandering soul) in Maharashtra. If it does not manage success it spoils others' good work. Maharashtra has been a victim of it," Modi had said at a rally on Monday.

"This game was started by the same leader 45 years ago. It was just for his own ambition that Maharashtra has always been an unstable state. As a result, several chief ministers could not complete their full term," Modi had said.

With inputs from ANI, PTI

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