Congress' priority is to serve Gandhi family: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an apparent reference to the Gandhi family said on Monday that the priority of the Congress party was to serve one family.

"For the Congress, the welfare of Chhattisgarh is not a priority. Their priority is to serve one family," Prime Minister Modi said at a rally here.

Further training guns at the opposition parties, the Prime Minister said, "Politics on the grounds of caste, creed and gender is unacceptable." "It is necessary to focus on all-round development to take India to newer heights of glory," he said.

"Our opposition still doesn't know how to fight the BJP. We are focused on development. We went beyond the caste divisions. You can witness development wherever you go in Chhattisgarh," the Prime Minister Modi said.

He further said, "Recently, the Congress party released its 36-point manifesto for Chhattisgarh. At the release of the manifesto, 'Naamdaar' was referred to as 'Sir' 150 times. It means for them the importance of Chhattisgarh is lesser than 'Naamdaar' (Rahul Gandhi)."

Prime Minister Modi said that it is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which can ensure that the state is free of Naxals. "Only the BJP can ensure that Chhattisgarh is free of Naxals. Those who gave birth to Naxalism, will they ever eliminate it? They defend Naxals and call them revolutionaries," he said.

The Prime Minister's rally comes amid polling for the first phase of the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections in 18 constituencies, which are in high-security zones in Bastar region. The first phase of Assembly elections began on Monday amid tight security. Of 18 seats going to polls on Monday, 12 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, while one is reserved for the Scheduled Caste.

The polling for remaining 72 seats will be held on November 20. The counting of votes will take place on December 11.