Sitaram Kesri, a Dalit, wasn't allowed to complete term as Cong chief: Modi

Modi challenged the Congress to select someone 'capable' as their party president who doesn't belong to 'that one family'

Hitting out at the Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi family, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday claimed that Dailt leader Sitaram Kesri was not allowed to complete his term as Congress president and was “thrown out of office” to make way for Sonia Gandhi. 

Addressing a rally on the last day of campaigning for the second and final phase of the Chhattisgarh Assembly polls, Modi said four generations of a family ruled the country and “benefitted from being in power”, but the country did not benefit from their rule. 

“The country knows that Sitaram Kesri, a Dalit, was not allowed to complete his five-year-term as the Congress president. He was thrown out of office and to the footpath to make way for Sonia Gandhi as the new party chief," he said. 

“Earlier, Delhi had a remote-controlled government. The remote was in the hands of a family, which was afraid of the BJP,” Modi said. 

He challenged the Congress to select someone “capable” as its president, who did not belong to “that one family”. 

“Remember the days when four generations of a family ruled the country. What was the fate of the people? They only thought about the welfare of one family but never thought about the welfare of the people. How can we trust them that they will fulfil the aspirations of the people now,” Modi said. 

He claimed that Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh had to face a lot of challenges from then Congress-led government at the Centre. 

“For 10 years, the Centre was ruled by a remote-control government, which never paid attention to Chhattisgarh,” Modi said. 

He praised the high voter turnout in Bastar in the first phase of the Chhattisgarh polls on November 12 and also in the panchayat election in Jammu and Kashmir and claimed that the people had given a befitting reply to those spreading terror. 

“Despite being threatened by Naxals with guns and bombs, a huge voter turnout was recorded in Bastar. The poor tribals have shown faith in democracy and given a befitting reply to bombs and guns,” Modi said. 

Addressing a rally in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara, the home turf of state Congress chief Kamal Nath, Modi accused the Congress of adopting double standards on cow protection, saying that while the party talks of bovine protection in Madhya Pradesh, its workers in Kerala slaughtered a calf and claimed eating beef was their right. Modi said the Opposition party had “mastered the art of speaking lies”. 

He asked Congress President Rahul Gandhi to clarify his party's stand on cow protection.