Congress's hypocritic manifesto will expire on May 23: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tore into the Congress at a poll rally here on Wednesday, saying its "dhakosla" (hypocritic) manifesto will expire on May 23 (the date of the Lok Sabha election results) and accused the opposition party of speaking the language of Pakistan as it sought to dilute AFSPA in terror-affected ares.

Accusing the Congress of repeatedly bowing its head before terrorism, Modi alleged that opposition leaders like Mamata Banerjee and Rahul Gandhi were insulting the country and its forces in their quest to demean him.

"Those who ruled India for 60 years are saying they will remove the armour of the defence forces. The Congress, in its dhakosla (hypocritic) manifesto, which is full of lies, has promised to remove the law (AFSPA) that protects our forces in terror-affected areas.

"Removing this will actually help Pakistan. The Congress has always bowed its head before terrorism," the prime minister told a rally at the Brigade Parade Grounds here.

Terming the Congress's manifesto a "dhakosla patra" (hypocritic document), he said it would expire on May 23, the date set by the Election Commission (EC) for counting of votes.

The opposition party had a history of going soft on terror, Modi said and cited the repealing of anti-terror laws such as TADA and POTA by Congress governments in the past.

"This chowkidar (Modi) of yours is standing as a great wall between national security and the Congress's ploys," he said and appealed to the people to re-elect the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for creating a "new India".

Congress president Rahul Gandhi released his party's manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on Tuesday assuring job creation, addressing the issue of farm distress, introducing a single, moderate GST rate and giving Rs 72,000 per annum to poor families as its key areas of focus.

It promised to review the deployment of armed forces, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) and the Disturbed Areas Act in Jammu and Kashmir and move more troops to the border to stop infiltration completely.

Modi also hit out at opposition leaders for using "anti-India" language and said it was due to the fear over their unsteady political ground.

He slammed both the Congress and the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal for asking for proof of the Balakot airstrike.

"Some people have started insulting the country in their quest to demean Modi at a time when we are moving towards realising the dream of Swami Vivekananda," he said.

Soldiers had the ability to carry out airstrikes and surgical strikes and scientists had the ability to conduct ASAT tests, Modi said, adding, "What was lacking was intent and courage in the previous governments."