Theni: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sought to corner the Congress on the Sabarimala issue in Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu.
BJP stood with people on the Lord Ayyappa issue, he said and hailed Tamil Nadu's spiritual ethos by citing the famous hill shrine of Lord Shiva (Sundaramahalinga Swamy Temple) on Sathuragiri hills in the southern region.
In Kerala, Congress, Communists and Muslim League are playing a "dangerous" game regarding Sabarimala temple.
"They are using brute force to strike at the root of faith and aspiration. Sadly for them till BJP is there, no one will be able to destroy our faith and culture," he said in Ramanathapuram.
Similar to his recent Kancheepuram rally, he said Ramanathapuram was linked to Kashi by the bonds of faith and spirituality.
'Tough on terror'
A vote for DMK, Congress, and Muslim League combine would lead to higher taxes and less development and give a free hand to terrorists and rise of criminal elements in politics, he alleged.
"Those who cannot protect India can never develop the nation. When Congress and their allies were in power, terrorists were attacking the nation regularly.
City after city, there were blasts but congress remained helpless and silent."
Time has however changed now. "India will not spare a single terrorist or Jihadi. If they dare to attack us, we will find them wherever they are and ruin their happiness," he said.
Addressing a poll rally here, he alleged the Congress and dishonesty were best friends but sometimes "by mistake," they end up speaking the truth.
"Now they are saying "Ab Hoga Nyay" (justice will be done now) even if they did not intend, they have admitted that all they have done is "Anyay" or injustice for 60 long years," (during the Congress rule), he said.
"I want to ask the Congress party who will do Nyay to the victims of 1984 Sikh riots ?
...who will do Nyay to all the victims of anti Dalit (violence), who will do Nyay to the government of great M G Ramachandran ji, which was dismissed by the Congress just because one family did not like those leaders."
...who will do Nyay to the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, among the worst environmental disaster in India."
Congress, which talks about 'Nyay' has done most injustice to regional aspirations by "shamelessly," imposing Art 356 to dismiss State governments of M G Ramachandran, M Karunanidhi, Communists and showing disrespect to the federal structure, the PM said.
His government however believed in "cooperative and competitive federalism," and regional aspirations mattered in policies.
Blaming the DMK, Congress for vote bank politics in opposing a Bill on abolishing Triple Talaq in Parliament, Modi said, "These parties do not believe in dignity of women."
If Rahul Gandhi invoked Tamil pride and rationalist leader Periyar to target BJP's Hindutva line, Modi countered it by referring to the legacy of late AIADMK leaders M G R and J Jayalalithaa, the welfare of Srilankan the state's spiritual ethos. He hailed MGR and Jayalalithaa as iconic leaders who strove for the poor.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami, who also addressed the gathering, hit out at arch rival DMK over its alliance with the Congress.
He asked the party to clarify whom it would support in neighbouring Kerala, whether the Congress or the CPI(M) as they both were its allies in Tamil Nadu.
The DMK and Congress though "sworn enemies" have joined hands, despite the national party having "humiliated" its southern ally in the past, Modi said.
Even during the 2G spectrum allocation scam, the DMK leaders criticised Congress, he pointed out.
"In an attempt to mislead the people, all the corrupt have ganged up in an attempt to defeat Modi," he added.
(With inputs from PTI)
