Raha (Assam): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today attacked Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi saying he has stopped smiling after the heavy polling in the first phase of assembly elections.
Addressing an election rally in Nagaon district, he said that the Congress leadership cannot save the party from defeat in the polls.
“I thank the people of Assam for the unprecedented high percentage of voting in the first phase. You must have noticed that the Assam Chief Minister has stopped smiling after the first phase. He is now inviting the Congress leaders from Delhi to save him,” Modi said, addressing the crowd in Hindi.
"But how can they (Congress leaders) save Gogoiji when they could not even save Delhi?" he asked, referring to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Taking a dig at Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Modi said that opposition party leaders were more concerned about ‘their own sons and daughters’. “I have come here to seek the people's support to bring about a change of government in the state,” he said.
“I am confident you will vote in large numbers in Phase II and elect the BJP and our allies in Assam. The nation has suffered a lot due to back seat driving,” he added.
The Prime Minister said that he had not seen another state in India apart from Assam where he claimed the entire population lived below poverty line (BPL).
“There are states in India where there are 20 or 30 percent BPL population. But the Congress in Assam has turned the entire population of the state poor as BPL," he said.
A total of 65 constituencies in Assam saw a record 82.20 percent polling in the first phase on April 4. The second and final phase polling for 61 constituencies will be take place on Monday.
