PM Modi accuses Congress of conspiracy to scare Muslims

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the Congress and its allies of conspiring to scare the Muslims against the BJP, saying they were rattled by the welcome he gets in countries of Islamic world and people should "not listen to their tape record, but see our track record."

Addressing a rally here to mark his government's decision to give property rights to over 40 lakh residents of unauthorised colonies of Delhi, Prime Minister Modi said that despite the conspiracies of opposition, he will never step back from fostering unity and integrity of the country as a "servant" of the people.

He said the Congress and its allies were rattled by the welcome he gets in the countries of the Islamic world and their liking for him.

"The Congress and its allies are unable to digest it. They feel if Modi continues to get this kind of support, then their deeds, rumours, lies, their deeds to scare the Muslims...they fear that if Muslims of the world love Modi so much how will they create a scare among Muslims (of India). This is their worry. These parties come up with new conspiracies from time to time. This time also a new round of conspiracies has begun," he said.

Prime Minister Modi was apparently referring to the violent protests in parts of the country over the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Modi referred to his decision to invite then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for his swearing-in the first term and going to Lahore and said his government had made sincere efforts to improve ties with Pakistan but got "betrayal".

He said that relations with the countries in the Islamic world including those in the Gulf were never better and were expanding in different areas.

He referred to India's relations with Palestine, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Jordan and said ties with the Islamic countries were reaching new heights.

Modi also referred to the countries such as Afghanistan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the Maldives bestowing him their highest civilian awards and said it was an honour for the people of the country.

"This is an effort to strengthen links with India's culture," he said.

The Prime Minister said that Saudi Arabia had, on his request, increased India's Haj quota to two lakh and many Muslim countries have also released Indian prisoners in numbers not seen before.

Modi made a special mention of Bangladesh, saying ties with the neighbouring country were close problems of the past have been solved and the two countries were making progress in areas such as connectivity, railways, and water transport.

Modi, who reached out to the Muslim community in his nearly 100-minute speech, said the results of general elections and the support he got over the triple talaq legislation from the main minority community, including fathers and brothers, has increased "tension"of opposition parties.

"Do not listen to their tape record, see our track record. I want to assure you, that your servant will never step back from doing his best for country's unity and for promoting peace and amity," he said.