Even as the Opposition parties held a key strategy meet for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched a fresh assault on them, calling their conclave in Bengaluru as ‘Kattar Bhrashtachari Sammelan’ (gathering of the corrupt) and alleging that they were only focused on promoting their family interests rather than working for the development of the nation.

”These parties provide cover to each other when their corruption is exposed. Another speciality of this meeting is that if someone is out on bail in a corruption of crores of Rupees, he/she is seen with great respect. If the entire family is out on bail, they are more honoured…If someone insults a community and is punished by the court, he is honoured,” he said while inaugurating the New Integrated Terminal Building of Veer Savarkar International Airport, Port Blair via video conferencing .With a construction cost of around Rs 710 crores, the new terminal building is capable of handling about 50 lakh passengers annually.

In his nearly 30-minute address, the PM was unsparing on the Opposition and said India would have scaled new heights during 75 years of Independence but corruption and dynastic politics always did injustice to the strengths of the common citizens.

”Democracy is of the people, by the people and for the people. But for the dynastic political parties, it is of the family, by the family and for the family. Family first, nation nothing. This is their motto… There is hatred, corruption and appeasement politics. The country is a victim of the fire of dynastic politics. For them, only their family’s growth matters, not that of the poor in the country,” he said.

The PM said the people of the country have already decided to bring the BJP-led NDA back to power in 2024. “…Today, the people of the country have already decided to bring us back in 2024. So, people who are responsible for the plight of India have opened their shops…24 ke liye 26 hone waale rajnaitik dalon par ye bada fit baith’ta hai. They are singing some other song but the reality is something else. A label of something else has been put up but the product is someone else’s. There is a guarantee of the poison of casteism and immense corruption at their shops. Now, they are in Bengaluru,” he said.

Highlighting what he called the opportunistic politics of certain parties, Modi accused the Opposition of promoting the politics of casteism and corruption and attacked the mentality of holding the Constitution hostage. He underlined the strength of the youth of India in the fields of defence and startup and lamented how no justice was done to their potential.

The PM made an appeal to the people to dedicate themselves to the development of the country. He said there were many examples of islands and small coastal countries that have made unprecedented progress in the world today. He highlighted that even though the path of progress was full of challenges, development arrived with all kinds of solutions. He expressed confidence that the development work being done in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands would further strengthen the entire region.

“The scope of development has been limited to big cities for a long time in India,” he noted and highlighted that the Adivasi and island regions of the country were devoid of development for a long time. In the last 9 years, the present government has not only rectified the mistakes of the governments of the past with utmost sensitivity but also come up with a new system, he added.