In his first rally in poll-bound Maharashtra since the announcement of Lok Sabha election dates, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) over a host of issues including coining of the term ‘Hindu terror’.

Assailing the Congress over the phrase, the PM told a massive gathering of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters in Wardha that even British historians never mentioned Hindus as terrorists.

“Some days ago a court ruling exposed the Congress conspiracy. Can a Congress which has insulted the Hindus and the millions of followers before the world be forgiven? It is from here in Maharashtra that Sushil Kumar Shinde, when he was the Home Minister of the country, made a ‘Hindu terror’ remark,” the PM said amid loud cheers from the gathering.

The PM was referring to the acquittal of Aseemanand, Kamal Chauhan, Rajinder Chaudhary and Lokesh Sharma in the Samjhauta train blast case on 20 March.

On Thursday, 28 March, a Panchkula court released a 160-page order in which special court judge Jagdeep Singh said that the prosecution “withheld” the “best evidence” and did not bring it on record in the 2007 blast case which left 68, including 43 Pakistani citizens, dead.

Read More: Arun Jaitley demands apology from Congress for vilifying Hindus in Samjhauta blast case

The PM said that there has never been an instance in history where Hindu has committed what can be called an act of terror.

“Even British historians never mentioned that a Hindu has resorted to this kind of violence,” the PM said.

Slamming the two main opposition parties in the state, the PM told the gathering not to forget the Azad Maidan riots.

“This is the same Congress-NCP combine which allowed the raucous mob to kick the martyr’s memorial in Azad Maidan,” Modi said referring to the 11 August 2012 riots in Mumbai in which Muslim groups resorted to violence while protesting against the atrocities on Rohingyas in Myanmar by the Myanmar government.

Continuing his stinging criticism, the PM said that the Congress and NCP can stoop to any level for the sake of vote bank.

The PM said that the two parties are afraid of contesting from Hindu-majority seats and are therefore taking refuge in minority seats.

Taking a jibe at NCP chief Sharad Pawar the PM said that his decision not to contest Lok Sabha elections reflects his realisation of the direction the wind is blowing. Modi also said that Pawar is losing control over the NCP which is evident from the delay in the distribution of tickets.

The PM also slammed Pawar for ignoring the plight of farmers despite being a farmer himself. Wardha, which is located in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, is always in the news for the poor condition of farmers which forces many to commit suicide.

“Despite being a farmer himself, Pawar forgot the plight of farmers. So many farmers committed suicides during his reign but he did not care,” the PM said.

The PM also congratulated ISRO scientists from the rally ground for the monumental PSLVC45 launch.

“By successfully launching PSLVC45, more than two dozen of satellites from five countries were sent to space,” he said.

At the same time, the PM said that his government took the decision to throw open such launches to the public to create an interest in India’s space mission and generate wide respect for the scientists.