Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the biggest fraud since Independence was the “gharibi hatao” promise by the Congress, and governments formed by it and others in the name of social justice only promoted casteism, dynastic politics and a corrupt eco-system.

Addressing a public meeting at Abu Road in Rajasthan, after launching development projects in Nathdwara, Modi said the Congress milked the slogan of gharibi hatao (removal of poverty) for decades, and the poor became poorer, while the members of the Congress became richer.

The prime minister said in the past few decades, the Congress and parties with similar thinking betrayed people in the name of social justice, and did nothing for the poor. These parties come to power in the name of their vote banks, but do not do any good even to them, while concentrating on their own family welfare.

Modi said the vote banks of these parties trusted them, but sunk into worse conditions. He said whosoever becomes the vote bank of these parties, their development halts and the ruling families grab all the benefits. People should never commit the mistake of reducing themselves to vote banks for development; they should instead become good voters, and be like lions and stay away from being vote-banks, and not behave like wolves to be included in the vote-banks, the prime minister said.

He said people may say the biggest fraud since Independence was the 2G fraud, or Coal fraud, or Bofors, helicopter or urea scandals. But there was even a bigger fraud on people’s sentiments than these scams. Fifty years back, the Congress promised removal of poverty, and what happened was that with every guarantee by the Congress, the Congress leaders became rich while the citizens became poorer, he said.

“That is why till 2014, 10 crore families did not have toilets; 50 crore had no bank accounts; lakhs of villages were without road connectivity; 16 crore families without tap water,” the prime minister said.

For 50 years, the gharibi hatao promise was given and milked, he said. The BJP brought out the true picture in the last nine years and did more than the work done by the Congress in 50 years. Besides the bank accounts and toilets for all the needy, nine crore have tap water today, including 40 lakh families in Rajasthan. Free gas connections were given to lakhs of women in Rajasthan; 19 lakh families got pucca houses and most in the name of women.  Each costs Rs 1 lakh or more, and these women are lakhpati Didis. “Your brother has done it,” he told the meeting.

The Congress gave only worry, insecurity to the poor; the BJP instead gave them cover of accident insurance and pension; three of these schemes completed eight years yesterday, with daily premium Rs 1.25 or Rs 1.50 only. Thirty crore people have benefited and Rs 15,000 crore has been paid to them, he said.

For decades, the Congress pursued politics which did maximum harm to Dalits, backwards and adivasis, he said. Adivasis trusted the Congress for decades but got only deprivation and lack of opportunity. Sirohi, Jaisalmer or other areas had no development and the Congress washed its hands by declaring them backward areas, while there was a high adivasi population there.

Modi said it is his government which declared the districts as Aspirational Districts. This morning over Rs 5,000 crore projects’ foundation stones and inauguration was done. This would benefit aspirational districts of the State. The Government is undertaking projects which were sought by the State since Independence, he said.

To harm Modi or the BJP, the prime minister said, the Congress does not shy away from harming the country. Even during the Corona pandemic, the Congress tried to spread rumours, tried to provoke people on vaccines, and wanted people to die in large numbers so that the party could target the BJP Government. But he did not surrender before their machinations. The Government was vigilant and saved not only lives of Indian citizens, but even helped other nations.

Even Rajasthan suffered due to this kind of selfish politics followed by the Congress, he said. The state has witnessed in the last five years a dirty spectacle of fight for political power. In place of welfare of people, what one sees in the State is a game to loot power or protect it, he said.

The prime minister said Rajasthan has a government where the chief minister does not trust his own MLAs, and the MLAs do not trust their own chief minister. Everybody in the government is trying to beat each other in heaping insults.

“If the continuity of the government is in doubt for five years, who will take care of Rajasthan’s development? The law and order is completely destroyed in the State. There were hardly any serious crimes in the State, but criminals are roaming there freely now without fear,” he said.

The worst victims of crime are women and the government is reluctant to act against the culprits due to appeasement of vote banks. Women are not able to celebrate festivals without fear. Two days later it will be on 13 May, the anniversary of the Jaipur serial blasts, he said.

The terrorists took the lives of several innocent persons. Even today their families are waiting for justice, but the Congress Government of the State has done what the Congress has been known for – going soft with terrorists due to politics of appeasement, he said.

The Congress does not miss any opportunity to stand by terrorists, Modi said. That is why there was weak prosecution in the case and the culprits got scot free. The State Government is trying to cover up its failures, but its real face is now known, he said.

The prime minister said the Hakki Pikki tribe which stood by Maharana Pratap during his struggles had migrated to Maharashtra and Karnataka later, and were recently stranded in the strife-torn Sudan while on business trips there.

Modi said the government wanted to quietly rescue them but the Congress raised noise and exposed their presence deliberately so that some of them could become targets in the internal strife, and the party could reap some advantage in the Karnataka polls by discrediting the BJP’s Central government.

The Congress wanted something untoward to happen, he said. But it seems, the Congress never understood Modi really. They did not know that Modi could go to any length to save citizens of India stranded anywhere.

How the Congress cheats people, the farmers of Rajasthan know it well. They were told their loans would be waived off in 10 days. How many loans have been waived off, people know. BJP takes care of farmers, and is giving credit cards for small farmers for bank loans. The BJP’s Samman Nidhi is proof of the party’s commitment to small farmers. The government has deposited Rs 16,000 crore in their accounts.