Chhattisgarh polls: Congress still can't accept a 'chaiwala' as their Prime Minister, says Narendra Modi in rally at Ambikapur

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, while addressing an election rally at Ambikapur in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, attacked the Congress, claiming that they still cant accept that a ‘chaiwala’ (tea-seller) became the prime minister and challenged them to make someone outside the Gandhi family the party president.  “These people still have not come to terms that I am the prime minister, it has been nearly four and a half years. They are still crying, how can a ‘chaiwala’ become a prime minister? Now they say a ‘chaiwala’ became the prime minister because of one great person,” Modi said. On Wednesday, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, taking a jibe at Modi, had credited India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru of creating democratic institutions that enabled a ‘chaiwala’ to become the prime minister of the country. Modi, while addressing the rally, claimed that he wanted to challenge the party, stating that he would agree to Nehru creating a ’truly democratic system’ only if they let some good leader of Congress outside of the family become the party president for five years.

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“Four generations of Congress ruled the nation and they should give an account of what they have done for the country,” Modi said. “People have disproved that it was the “right of only one family” to speak from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi,” he said. “You can’t understand the difficulties faced by the poor but a ‘chaiwala’ can,” Modi said. “They (Congress) have kept the country in the dark with their lies which are ingrained in their minds,” Modi said, not mincing words to target the principal opposition party and its top leaders. Modi made sure to praise his own party claiming that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the only party ruling without discrimination. “The BJP is the only party in the country that is working towards ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ without any discrimination,” he said.

छत्तीसगढ़ की जनता ने बड़ी आत्मीयता से विकास पुरुष माननीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी का स्वागत किया। छत्तीसगढ़ की जनता का @BJP4CGState पर विश्वास प्रदेश में हुए पिछले 15 वर्षों के विकास का फल है। #KamalSangVikas pic.twitter.com/leeN0VHYMb

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Talking about witnessing the development in the state, Modi said, “On one side there is fear being created of bombs and guns. People are being lead to death and efforts were being made to throttle democracy. But on the other hand, the people of Chhattisgarh have proved the strength of India’s democracy by overwhelming polling in the first phase.” Appreciating the people of Bastar for voting despite facing the threat of democracy, he said, “Shouldn’t people of Bastar be appreciated for such high voting percentages? I will tell you a way to appreciate them, on 20 November you register even higher voting percentage than Bastar.” Modi urged the people to vote in heavy numbers to ensure BJP’s victory and as an appreciation of the efforts taken by the people of Bastar who voted despite facing the threat of Naxalism. Modi also recalled Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s contribution to Chhattisgarh, pointing out the “mess” that  Congress created at the rime of formation of Telangana. “Vajpayee created Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. It was a peaceful division and both the states are developing rapidly today. But just look at what the mess Congress created at the time of formation of Telangana,” he said. In Chhattisgarh, campaigning for second phase of assembly elections is at its peak now. 72 constituencies of the state go to polls on the 20 November. With inputs from PTI