'BJP wants to empower people, others want to build empire with opportunistic alliances': Narendra Modi takes a dig at Opposition

Chennai: Taking a dig at Opposition parties for their efforts to form a grand alliance against his party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the BJP is here to serve the country, whereas there are “opportunistic alliances and dynastic parties” on the other side.

“They want to build their own empire, but we want to empower people,” he said, adding that the alliance against the BJP was a “short-term” one being built for the benefit of the respective parties.

“Unlike other parties, we are not in politics to divide and rule and to build a vote bank. We are here to serve the country in every way,” he said during an interaction with booth-level BJP workers from five parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu. “The upcoming polls are important for the BJP and the country to further our development agenda.”

“On one hand, we have our development agenda, and on the other, there are opportunistic alliance and dynastic parties,” he said, without naming anyone.

Taking a swipe at the Opposition, the prime minister asked, “If Modi is so bad and the government is not working, why is this alliance being formed? Shouldn’t you be confident about yourself? They know this is a working government.”

Many sections of society, including youth, farmers and women have a “strong bond” with the BJP government, he added.

Modi’s comments came a day after the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party announced their alliance for the coming Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh in a bid to counter the saffron party.