Fresh Twist To ‘400 Paar’: Modi warns of Babri lock on Ram temple

Khargone/Dhar: Claiming that the Congress intends to overturn Supreme Court’s decision on Ram Mandir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the BJP needs 400 seats so the Congress cannot succeed in its plan to put the ‘Babri lock’ on the temple in Ayodhya.

This is a departure from Modi’s earlier framing of the 400-seat mark – while he had not attributed a reason in the run up to the polls, after the first phase, he had said he needed to cross this figure so the Congress cannot steal the reservations of Dalits, tribals and OBCs.

Speaking in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone and Dhar districts, Modi countered the Congress allegations that the slogan of ‘400 paar’ was aimed at abolishing the Constitution. “The Congress is spreading lies… Don’t they know that from 2019 to 2024… the NDA-plus alliance already had the support of around 400 seats… Modi needs 400 seats so the Congress cannot bring back Article 370 in Kashmir and create trouble. Modi needs 400 seats so the Congress cannot put the Babri lock on the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya,” he said in Dhar.

In Khargone, Modi said, “India is at a crucial juncture in history. You have to decide whether there will be ‘vote jihad’ in India or ‘Ram Rajya’.” “In Pakistan, terrorists are threatening jihad against India, and here the Congress people have also declared to do ‘vote jihad’ against Modi, asking people of a particular religion to unite and vote against Modi. Think about the level to which the Congress has stooped due to disappointment and despair. Is ‘vote jihad’ acceptable to you? Can this be allowed in a democracy? Does the Constitution of India permit this kind of jihad?” he said.

To understand how “dangerous” the “Congress conspiracy” is, one needs to listen to leaders who have left the party, the PM said.

“A woman said that when she went to the Ram Mandir, she was tortured so much that she had to leave the Congress. Another person said the Muslim League and Maoists have captured the Congress. A third person revealed a deeper conspiracy, saying that the Shahzada of the Congress (a reference to Rahul Gandhi) intends to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision on Ram Mandir, just like his father overturned the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Shah Bano case. A fourth person disclosed that for the last two years, people have been involved in a big conspiracy – Congress has decided to trap Modi in false accusations, spread rumours. That is why these days, lies are being spread about the Constitution, and that is why people are talking about setting the country on fire,” Modi said.

Attacking former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi, who had drawn flak for terming the attack against the Indian Air Force convoy in J&K an ‘election stunt’, the PM said, “With each phase of voting, the love of Congress for Pakistan is reaching its peak. The statements of these people are astonishing. A former CM of Congress said that our Army carries out terrorist attacks, Pakistan is innocent. Isn’t this an insult to our Army?”