People would need visa for Hyderabad if not for Patel: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said had there been no Sardar Patel, people would have required a Pakistani visa to go to Hyderabad.

Addressing an election rally here, Modi recalled the role played by India's first home minister in merger of then Hyderabad State with the Indian Union.

"It is because of Sardar Patel that we are today saying 'Bharat Mata ki Jai,' he said.

He reiterated that if Patel had been India's first Prime Minister, then the condition of farmers would not have deteriorated to such an extent.

Modi said BJP remained committed to doubling farmers' income by 2022. He said the second dream of the party was to ensure that every family in the country has its own house by 2022.

He said the government would not only build these houses but ensure water, electricity and gas connections along with the toilet facility.

Without naming Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), Modi said some people who talk 'anaap shanap' (rubbish) have stated that all the governments formed in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana had to bow before them.

"You fought for self-respect. You need a chief minister who will never agree to bow before anybody except people of his state," Modi said.

He alleged that Congress and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) have colluded. He said they were engaged in shadow boxing because they have common goal and have the same character.

Modi said both the parties were family-centric and resort to casteism and vote bank politics. He said while four generations of Congress grabbed power after India became independent, the TRS rose to power in Telangana for five years after it became a separate state.

The Prime Minister said Congress pitted Hindus and Muslims against each other, one caste against another and towns against villages. He said if TRS was passing edicts for minority reservations, the Congress had been doing this for long.

Blaming Congress for killing Telangana youth fighting for their state, Modi asked people not to allow the party to enter their state. He people should vow not to elect even one candidate of Congress.

Targeting TRS president and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, the BJP leader asked people of Telangana if their struggle was for the welfare and prosperity of one family.

Stating that KCR had failed to fulfil the promises, Modi said if he was given power for another five years, he would do nothing new.

--IANS

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