Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said those who have a tainted past are trying to come together against him, but they must know that “if they are a guarantee for corruption, Modi is a guarantee for action against corruption.”

Addressing BJP’s Vijay Sankalp Rally in Raipur, after launching various development projects, he attacked the Opposition parties trying to forge unity against him and the BJP, and said these parties were only recently cursing each other without restraint.

“They think by coming together, they can scare Modi and bring him down. Every corrupt person in the country should hear this clearly, that if they are a guarantee for corruption, then Modi is guarantee for action against corruption,” he said amidst shouts of “Modi, Modi.”

The prime minister said “all those who have committed wrongs, will not be able to save themselves, and I can dare say this as whatever I have today, is given to me by you, by the country.”

He said “these people will try to target me, give threats to dig my grave, and indulge in conspiracies against me, but they don’t know, the one who can be scared will not be Modi.”

Modi said whatever has happened in Chhattisgarh in the last four years, has proved once again that the Congress Party is corrupt to the core. The Congress cannot even breathe without corruption, he said.

“Corruption is the main ideology of the Congress Party. When I say the Congress is the guarantee for corruption and a system of commissions, some people get offended. They start talking against me. Their anger is proof that my Government is headed in the right direction,” the Prime Minister said.

Referring to Chhattisgarh, which will see Assembly elections before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Mr Modi said the State will complete 25 of its formation after two years. Chhattisgarh is full of youth power today, he said. That’s why people say, a person from Chhattisgarh is better than anybody else, he said.

The Prime Minister said the next 25 years are very crucial for Chhattisgarh, but a big “hand” (Congress Party election symbol) is coming in the way of the State’s development like a wall, he said. This hand belongs to the Congress Party. “This hand is depriving you of your entitlement. The Congress hand is determined to destroy Chhattisgarh by looting it,” the Prime Minister said.

“Only the Congress can commit the sin of lying while swearing in the name of the holy Ganga. You will recollect that in the presence of the holy Ganga, the Congress had issued a manifesto and said they would do this or that within 10 days. They had talked of big things. But if you remind the Congress of that manifesto, the Congress feigns loss of memory,” the Prime Minister said.

One of the 36 promises made to the State by the Congress Party was that it would bring prohibition against the sale of liquor, he said. It was stated that gram panchayats in the scheduled areas would get the right to impose prohibition.

Now, the State Congress Government is about to complete five years, and the truth is the Congress has surely committed a liquor scam of thousands of crores of Rupees, Mr Modi said. The allegation is that the money taken as commissions has gone into the Congress party pockets. “My friends in Chhattisgarh should know that for the Congress Party, the State is like an ATM,” he said.

No department or work in the State is outside suspicion, the Prime Minister said. Coal mafia, sand mafia and land mafia are flourishing in Chhattisgarh. Even Jal Jeevan Mission is not spared. From Chief Minister to Ministers and officials of the State have come under suspicion on one count or the other, he said.

The Prime Minister said the BJP had a big role in the creation of Chhattisgarh and the party understands the needs of the region. That is why the BJP Government at the Centre is doing its best for the development of the State. Projects worth Rs 7000 crore have been unveiled today to reduce problems of the people and bring ease of living for them.

Earlier, the Prime Minister dedicated and laid foundation stone for five National Highway projects worth around Rs 6,400 crores for the State. The projects that were dedicated include the 33 km long 4-laning of Raipur to Kodebod section on the Jabalpur-Jagdalpur National Highway.

Mr Modi initiated the distribution of 75 lakh cards to beneficiaries under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. He said that Rs 40,000 crore assistance has been given to youths of Chhattisgarh under Mudra Yojana.

Later, the Prime Minister travelled to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and addressed the closing ceremony of the centenary celebrations of the historic Gita Press in the city.

He said “Gita Press is proof that when your objectives are pure, your values are pure then success becomes synonymous.” He said Gita Press is an institution which has always enriched social values and shown the path of duty to people. On the occasion, he released the Chitramaya Shiva Purana Granth.