At a mega joint rally of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted both the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) over a host of issues including national security.

“Congress and NCP are now standing with those who advocate for a separate PM in J-K,” the PM said in Maharashtra’s Latur.

Questioning the Congress-NCP alliance in the state, the PM launched a direct attack on NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

“Sharad sa’ab, you are standing with such people! The country has no expectations with Congress party but Sharad sa’ab you! Does it suit you?” he said.

Criticising the Congress for questioning the Balakot airstrike and its recently released manifesto, the PM said that while the “new India promises to end terrorism” the opposition party wants to remove the “laws that protect soldiers”.

“Killing terrorists inside their homes is the policy of new India. We will rest only after eliminating terrorism. We vow to Naxalism and Maoism,” the PM said.

“And they (Congress) are promising to review AFSPA and maintain Article 370 in Kashmir, which is what Pakistan wants,” the PM added.

Continuing his attack on the Congress in the presence of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, the PM said that “words of human rights do not befit a party that revoked Balasaheb Thackeray’s right to vote”.

“Those who talk of a separate PM and secession of J-K are the ones whom the nation had trusted once. The country can now understand who they, who governed J-K for decades, actually serve. The thoughts in their hearts are now in the open.

Commenting on the ongoing raids on aides of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, the PM said that “while the Congress has been saying ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ for the past six months, wads of money was recovered from the homes of Congress loyalists”.

In the raids conducted since Sunday, the Income Tax department detected “a widespread and well-organised racket of a collection of unaccounted cash of about Rs 281 crore” through various persons in different walks of life, including business, politics and public service. It further said a part of the cash was transferred to the headquarters of a ‘major political party in Delhi’. It, however, neither identified the political party nor the senior functionary.

At the public meeting in Latur, the PM also said stressed on his party’s commitment to protection of India’s culture and tradition and the security of the nation.

He also underlined the developmental works for the farmers and tribals undertaken by his government and the achivemenets.

“We have worked day and night towards providing adivasis the benefit of development. It is our vow that farmer income will double by 2022 and we have set the MSP for 22 crops at 1.5 times the cost,” he said.

Pointing out that his party had not promised surgical strikes and airstrike in 2014 and yet went ahead with them, the PM said that his party, if it comes to power again, will not restrict itself to fulfilling promises made in the 2019 manifesto.

This was the first joint rally of the Shiv Sena and BJP since their tie-up for the Lok Sabha elections 2019.