Madhya Pradesh polls: Modi flays Congress over mention of cow in manifesto

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a frontal attack on the Congress Sunday, saying cheating was in the blood of the opposition party.

Addressing a rally here in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, the prime minister also slammed the Congress on the issue of cow protection.

"The Congress continues to misguide people. Cheating is in the blood of the Congress, but the people of Madhya Pradesh will not give importance to that party.

"Is it the same Congress which praises the cow in Madhya Pradesh and mentions some schemes in its poll manifesto, but slaughters calves on the streets of Kerala and eats beef?" Modi asked the crowd.

He was apparently referring to an incident in Kerala's Kannur last year, when a calf was slaughtered to protest against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government's notification on sale of cattle for slaughter.
 

The Congress, in its manifesto for the November 28 Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, talks about commercial production of "gaumutra" (cow urine) and "kanda" (cowdung cakes).

Modi said his government had stopped the "theft" of the country's money to the tune of Rs 900 billion per year by detecting fake beneficiaries through technology.

"I have been heavily abused by Congress leaders, but I know the reason behind it. The use of Aadhaar-based technology has detected 60 million fake beneficiaries of government schemes. My government has stopped the annual theft of Rs 900 billion of the country's money," he said.
 

Modi also targeted Chhindwara MP and Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath over a video and his claims of development.

In the clip that went viral on the social media, Nath had purportedly said the winnability of a candidate was the most important factor for him, rather than his character.

The 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly will go to the polls on November 28 and the results will be announced on December 11.