The PM strongly defended the new citizenship law and said it was to protect people’s rights.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday kicked off BJP’s Delhi poll campaign with a unity slogan, underlining that India’s stand out feature is its diversity.
The PM, speaking at the Ramlila Maidan, threw ‘Unity in diversity’ slogan at the people and asked them to complete it with ‘India’s specialty’. In unison, the crowd roared back and did what it was asked to do. The slogan was repeated three times before the PM launched into the opposition parties. He strongly defended the new citizenship law and said it was to protect people’s rights.
Here are the top quotes from his speech:
* “Dalits, who came here from Pakistan, among beneficiaries of citizenship law; why you can’t see their pain”: PM Modi to critics
* “We had a chance to expose Pakistan’s discrimination against minorities but it was lost due to our rivals’ politics”: PM Modi
* “33,000 police personnel laid down their lives during work since independence but now being attacked mercilessly”: PM Modi on attacks on policemen
* “My rivals should burn my effigy if they hate me but they should not target the poor”: PM Modi
* “We have never asked anyone if he goes to temple or mosque when it comes to implementing our schemes”: PM Modi
* “Muslims being misled, I have always ensured that documents will never come in way of development schemes and their beneficiaries”: PM Modi
* “I dare rivals to find anything discriminatory in my work”: PM Modi
* “Lie being spread that I brought law to snatch people’s rights, it will not stand”: PM Modi
* “Some political parties spreading all kinds of rumours, misleading people and stoking their emotions against citizenship law”: Modi
* “Stand up to show respect for Parliament and lawmakers who passed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill”: PM Modi
* “People were incited, those in high positions shared fake videos”: Modi on protests against citizenship law (HT)
