PM Modi: Congress backing Pakistan-groomed terrorists, anti-nationals

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has alleged that the Congress, instead of supporting the Indian Army, backs terrorists groomed by Pakistan.

Addressing a programme at Mangaldoi in Assam’s Darrang district on Sunday (September 14), Modi accused the grand old party of protecting infiltrators and anti-national forces.

The prime minister claimed that the BJP would not allow infiltrators to grab land and their conspiracy to change the demography.

Also read: PM Modi lays stones for health, infra projects worth Rs 6,300 cr in Assam's Darrang

“The Congress, instead of supporting the Indian Army, backs terrorists groomed by Pakistan. It protects infiltrators and anti-national forces,” the PM alleged, while addressing the public meeting.

The Prime Minister who is visiting Assam for the first time since Operation Sindoor dedicated his visit to Ma Kamakhya and Lord Krishna. “With the blessings of Ma Kamakhya, the operation was successful,” he said, adding that he could feel “a divine connection”.

Modi had arrived in Assam on Saturday evening and attended Bharat Ratna awardee Bhupen Hazarika's birth centenary celebrations.

World's first ethanol plant

During his visit to Assam, Modi launched projects worth Rs 12,230 crore in Assam’s Numaligarh.

The prime minister inaugurated a Rs 5,000-crore bamboo-based ethanol plant at Numaligarh in Golaghat district.

The "world’s first, second-generation" bioethanol plant is a ‘zero-waste’ facility, which will utilise all parts of the bamboo plant, and is expected to give a Rs 200-crore boost to the rural economy in the state, officials said.

It will source 5 lakh tonnes of green bamboo from four north-eastern states, benefitting over 50,000 people directly and indirectly, they added. .

More projects launched

He also laid the foundation stone for the Rs 7,230-crore Petro Fluidised Catalytic Cracker Unit at the Numaligarh Refinery in Numaligarh.

The polypropylene plant, the foundation for which was laid by Modi, is an important milestone in manufacturing plastic with a wide range of applications, the officials said. The plant has the potential to generate 75,000 man-days annually.

Earlier in the day, the PM laid the foundation stones for health and infrastructure projects worth Rs 6,300 crore at Mangaldoi in Darrang district.

He also launched the construction of Darrang Medical College and Hospital, along with a nursing college and a GNM school. The combined investment in these healthcare projects is worth Rs 570 crore, the officials said.

Road, bridge projects

Modi also laid the foundation stones for the 2.9 km-long Narengi-Kuruwa bridge with an estimated cost of Rs 1,200 crore and the 118.5 km-long Guwahati Ring Road project, connecting Kamrup and Darrang districts in Assam and Ri Bhoi in Meghalaya.

The cost for the Ring Road project is estimated to be Rs 4,530 crore.

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Congress vs BJP

Meanwhile, in his speech, linking his Independence Day address to the Janmashtami celebrations in Darrang, he brought up the topic of the Sudarshan Chakra Mission, a decade-long plan to develop an indigenous defence shield along the lines of Israel’s Iron Dome.

Modi also claimed that the Congress ruled Assam for decades, but built “only three bridges” over the Brahmaputra, while the BJP-led dispensation constructed six such structures in the past 10 years.

He also praised Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for “evicting infiltrators from encroached land and ensuring that farmers can now cultivate on these plots”.

Development narrative

The PM asserted that India was emerging as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and said that Assam’s growth rate was 13 per cent.

“This was achieved due to the efforts of the double-engine government. The Centre and the state government are developing Assam as a health hub. The North East has a big role to play in achieving the Viksit Bharat dream,” the PM added.

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(With agency inputs)