Congress repeatedly 'abused' Article 356, says Modi

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday claimed that the Congress party has "abused" Article 356 (President's rule) "time and again".

"If there is one party that has abused Article 356 again and again, it is the Congress. If the dynasty did not like a leader, that state government was dismissed. Congress imposed Article 356 many times, out of which 50 governments were dismissed by Indira Gandhi herself. Even the DMK has been a victim of the Congress hatred for regional aspiration. But for DMK, opportunism has prevailed over values," said Prime Minister Modi while addressing a rally here.

He added, "The careless conduct of the Opposition on national security is well known. Guided by politics and selfish interests, they neither want a strong India nor strong armed forces."

Prime Minister Modi also accused Congress of insulting "strong regional leaders".

"The people of Tamil Nadu will never forget how one family insulted K. Kamaraj. What was Kamaraj's crime? His crime was that he spoke for the people and for democracy. He challenged the corrupt and dictator-like practices of one family. Because of that, he was insulted again and again," the Prime Minister said.

"Our decisions are not taken by a high command in Delhi. The people of India are our high command. Our track record shows that the NDA is best placed to fulfill regional aspirations. Sadly, Congress and its allies can never fulfill regional aspirations because those decisions are guided by the culture of command and family first," he added.