Attacking the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the country has suffered due to 'backseat driving' and 'remote control' and warned people of Assam against an unstable government in the state.
Addressing a poll meeting here, he asked the people to elect a Bharatiya Janata Party-led government with absolute majority and defeat the forces which were spreading rumours to create political instability in Assam and stop the state from embarking on the path of development.
Attacking former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his statement that his government believed in more work than mere talk, Modi said, "What he said was true and the scams of his period have started speaking now."
"Manmohanji ne kahan ki zubaan se zyada kaam bolta hain aur ab toh aapka kaam bolne laga hain. Yeh toh saach hain ki paap bolte hain aur ab toh parche khulne lage hain aur sab pareshan hain (Manmohanji had said that work speaks more than words and now their work has started speaking. It is true that sins do speak, now the results of their misdeeds are out and all are disturbed)," he said.
In an apparent dig at Singh, Modi said the nation has suffered enough from 'backseat driving' and asked people not to hand over the 'remote control' into anyone's hands.
"There are some people who are getting greedy that they will take advantage of a hung assembly and claiming they will run business. Should this be allowed?
"The country has suffered enough from this backseat driving. Should Assam be allowed to be destroyed through this backseat driving? They are not interested in the country. Don't give the remote control into anyone's hands," he said.
The BJP had repeatedly alleged that the previous Manmohan Singh government was being run by "remote control" and that there were "two power centres" with Congress President Sonia Gandhi taking all important decisions.
During United Progressive Alliance-I, it had alleged that the Left which was providing crucial outside support was indulging in backseat driving.
Two persons had been convicted in the coal scam and those involved in other scams like 2G during UPA rule would not be spared, Modi said.
Hitting out at chief minister Tarun Gogoi, he said governance has been hit due to corruption and nepotism. "We are concerned about the sons and daughters of Assam, not the sons and daughters of a select few," he said, taking a dig at Gogoi, whom he accused of being busy only in "settling" his son.
"Three days are left (for polls) and there will people trying to spread lies and rumours. It is your task to counter them by going to every household and not be misled by them. If by chance in Assam an unstable government is formed, forces trying to break the country will try to benefit."
Raising the Saradha scam issue for the first time in Assam poll campaign, the Prime Minister said that the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana had been launched to ensure that such fraud did not take place in future.
"The poor went to chit funds because they did not have access to the banks. It was my government that has stopped them from going to chit funds by allowing them to open zero-balance bank accounts under the PM Jan Dhan Yojana," Modi told the election rally.
Image: Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with school kids after offering prayers to Goddess Ma Kamakhya Devi at her historic temple atop Nilachal Hill in Guwahati. Photograph: PMO/Twitter
