Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday attacked the opposition INDIA bloc over corruption, as he kicked off the BJP’s Lok Sabha ballot marketing campaign from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. On a day the Congress, AAP and different opposition events held a mega protest in New Delhi over Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, the prime minister stated the elections, this time, might be a contest between the “enemies” and “patrons” of corruption.

“Modi will not be stopped. Action will be taken against every corrupt person,” he said at a public gathering. He shared the stage with RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary, who recently joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA); CM Yogi Adityanath and his Haryana counterpart Nayab Singh Saini; along with veteran actor Arun Govil of Ramayan fame, who is the BJP candidate from Meerut.

Targeting Kejriwal, who was arrested on corruption charges in the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, Prime Minister Modi said some leaders were behind bars because the BJP’s fight is against corruption. “They are not even getting bail from the Supreme Court… Some people are rattled by this action and they have come together under the umbrella of the INDIA bloc,” he was quoted as saying in a report published by Hindustan Times.

The PM once again launched an attack against the Congress, blaming former PM Indira Gandhi for ceding Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka in 1974. Earlier in the day, he wrote a social media post on X about this, saying the “Congress can’t be trusted”.

“Another anti-India conduct of the Congress has been unveiled today. The island of Katchatheevu, which lies between India and Sri Lanka and is extremely important from the perspective of national security, was given away by Congress after independence. India is still paying for the misdoings of the Congress government,” he was quoted as saying.

He said the 2024 Lok Sabha polls is not just for making a government but to make a ‘Viksit Bharat’, asserting that people have only seen a “trailer” of development and his government was preparing the roadmap for the next five years. Lauding Meerut as a land of “revolution and revolutionaries”, PM Modi said it gave leaders like Chaudhary Charan Singh to India.

“Our authorities has already began preparations for the third time period. We are making a roadmap for the approaching 5 years. Work is occurring quickly on what main choices we have now to soak up the primary 100 days. In the final 10 years, you might have seen solely a trailer of growth, now we have now to take the nation a lot additional,” he added.

‘Raising Katchatheevu issue shows Modi’s desperation’

The Congress has also hit back at Modi over his charge that Indira Gandhi gave away Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka. Before the Meerut rally, national president Mallikarjun Kharge asked why the PM did not take steps to get the island back in his 10-year rule. He alleged that raising the “sensitive” challenge forward of elections reveals his “desperation”.

The opposition leader also questioned why Modi gave a “clean chit” to China after 20 bravehearts made a supreme sacrifice within the Galwan Valley in jap Ladakh. Kharge stated Katchatheevu was given to Sri Lanka as a part of a pleasant settlement in 1974 and reminded that the Modi-led authorities had additionally undertaken an identical “pleasant gesture” in the direction of Bangladesh in change of border enclaves.

“Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi ji, you have suddenly woken up to the issues of territorial integrity and national security in your 10th year of misrule. Perhaps, elections are the trigger. Your desperation is palpable,” he stated in a submit on X.