SP, Cong turned Purvanchal into region of mafia, poverty, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday accused the Samajwadi Party and the Congress of neglecting Purvanchal and turning it into a "region of mafia, poverty and helplessness".

Addressing a public meeting in Ghosi here, the PM claimed the Congress declared educational establishments as minority institutions and gave reservation to Muslims there. The INDIA bloc wants to turn the majority community into the country's second-class citizens, Modi alleged.

He also said those associated with the Samajwadi Party kept Purvanchal backward under a conspiracy and the people of the region will continue to punish them for this.

"The families of SP and Congress had their dynastic mindset turn Purvanchal into a region of mafia, poverty and helplessness," he said.

"The people associated with the INDI Alliance who set fire to your houses, encroached on land, who emboldened rioters, who shed tears for the mafia, such people should not be allowed to set foot in Purvanchal," said the PM.

The rally in Ghosi was held in support of BJP and NDA candidates from Ghosi, Salempur and Ballia Lok Sabha seats.

NDA partner Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party has fielded Arvind Rajbhar from the Ghosi Lok Sabha seat. The BJP has fielded Neeraj Shekhar and Ravindra Kushwaha from Ballia and Salempur Lok Sabha seats, respectively.