"You issue statements to protect urban Maoists. You take to the field if the government takes legal action against them (Aap urban Maowadi ki raksha ke liye bayanbaazi karte ho, unke khilaf agar sarkar kanooni karyawahi kare to aap unko bachane ke liye maidan mein aate ho)," Modi said at Jagdalpur, his first rally ahead of the elections in Maoist-affected areas on November 12.
"Urban Maoists live in air-conditioned surroundings, move in luxury cars and send their children to study abroad, but ruin the lives of children here," Modi said and targeted Congress for "defending" Naxalites.
"Naxalites kill our jawans and Congress calls them revolutionaries. The nation will never forgive such politicians," he said.
The PM's remarks in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, often a battleground between activists and government agencies over human rights and extremism, brought into sharp political focus the recent arrest of five activists for allegedly collaborating with the banned CPI (Maoist), which, the opposition said, were intended to stifle dissent.
The arrests were opposed by Congress with Rahul Gandhi tweeting, "There is only place for one NGO in India and it's called the RSS. Shut down all other NGOs. Jail all activists and shoot those that complain. Welcome to the new India." BJP had strongly defended the action of Maharashtra police and said the arrests were an example of resolute action against Maoist sympathisers and accused Congress of acting out of political considerations.
"Naxals put guns in the hands of children, who should be holding pens instead. Isn't this the act of a monster? Those who burn down schools have the mindset of monsters," the PM told the crowd, adding: "We have to change Bastar, we have to keep Bastar safe. If people want to create a new Bastar, they must support BJP in all seats."
Modi said the Congress-led UPA government was at the Centre for 10 years, but "never paid attention to the needs of Chhattisgarh and blocked all development for the state".
"They never thought of the state's progress. But the NDA government did not give up on the promise of developing Chhattisgarh. The development that Congress couldn't bring about in 10 years has been done by NDA in four and a half years," the PM added.
from Times of India https://ift.tt/2PoXN3W
