"I'm Shiva's Devotee, Will Swallow Poison": PM's Fresh Abuse Row Attack

In a scathing attack on the main Opposition Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the people are his masters and "remote control" and it is before them that he expresses his pain. Amid the massive row over the verbal abuses targeting him and his late mother, Heeraben Modi, the Prime Minister said he is a devotee of Lord Shiva and will "swallow the poison" of abuses.

"I know, the whole Congress ecosystem will target me and say Modi is crying again. The people are my God; if I don't express my pain before them, where will I do it? They are my masters, my deities, and my remote control. I do not have any other remote control," he told a gathering in Assam's Darang after inaugurating several projects.

The Prime Minister has been targeting the Congress over verbal abuses made from an RJD-Congress stage during a recent political campaign in poll-bound Bihar. The Opposition party has stressed that none of its leaders were on the stage when the remarks were made. Thereafter, a row erupted over Congress creating an AI-generated video featuring the Prime Minister's mother. 

The remote control reference is significant. In the past, Prime Minister Modi has used the expression to accuse former UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi of controlling former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He has also alleged that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is remote-controlled by the Gandhis, a charge Congress has repeatedly trashed.

The Prime Minister said that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had shown him a remark by Mr Kharge after the Centre decided to honour late Bhupen Hazarika, legendary singer from Assam, with the Bharat Ratna.

"The day the Indian government honoured this country's great son and Assam's pride Bhupen Hazarika with the Bharat Ratna, the Congress president said Modi was giving the award to 'singers and dancers'," the Prime Minister said.

Mr Kharge, who was not the Congress chief at the time, had sparked a row in 2019 with his remark on the Bharat Ratna to Bhupen Hazarika. He had later issued a clarification. "Dr Hazarika was one of our country's most gifted artists whose extraordinary talents encompassed music, poetry, literature and cinema. His contributions brought the culture and art of Assam to the attention of the world," he had said.

The Prime Minister invoked Jawaharlal Nehru and said the country's first Prime Minister had said after the India-China war in 1962 that the "wounds of the people of North East had not healed". "The current generation of Congress is sprinkling salt on those wounds."

"For decades, Congress governed Assam, yet it constructed only three bridges over the Brahmaputra River in 60 to 65 years. In contrast, when you entrusted us with the opportunity, we built six new bridges in just a single decade. It's only natural that you would appreciate our efforts and bless us with your support," he said.

Referring to Operation Sindoor, the Prime Minister said the Congress used to be silent when terror struck during its rule. "Now, our forces conduct Operation Sindoor, uprooting terror from every corner of Pakistan, but the people of Congress stand with the Pakistan army. They forward their agendas. The lies of Pakistan become the Congress's agenda. That's why you should always beware of Congress," the Prime Minister said.

Raising infiltration, a key issue in Assam, the Prime Minister said the Congress's "biggest focus is vote bank" and it "never cares about the country". "Now the Congress has become a protector of anti-nationals and infiltrators. When Congress was in power, it encouraged infiltration, and now it wants infiltrators to settle in the country forever and decide India's future," he said.