My Gods are 125 crore Indians, I am serving them: PM Narendra Modi in Gujarat's Surendranagar

SURENDRANAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday came down heavily on the Congress and accused the opposition of dividing the people over community lines.

Addressing an election rally in Gujarat's Surendranagar area, the PM said, “The biggest disservice to Gujarat by the Congress was to divide communities. The party ensured that people who were earlier friends get divide.”

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) star campaigner was referring to the Congress joining hands with some Patidar leaders like Hardik Patel.

While appealing to people to vote for BJP, the PM said, “My Gods are 125 crore Indians. I am serving them.”

While referring to Maharashtra Congress secretary Shehzad Poonawalla's comments on the upcoming Congress president election, PM Modi said, “A youngster Shehzad exposed the rigging that is taking place in the Congress president poll,” adding that “Congress has tried to muzzle his voice and wants to even remove him from their social media groups.”

Heaping praise on Shehzad, the BJP leader said, “Those who have no internal democracy can't work for people. I want to tell this youngster Shehzad, you have done a brave thing but this is sadly what has always happened in the Congress.”

Shehzad Poonawalla on Wednesday had questioned the process to elect party president, calling it "rigged" and said vice president Rahul Gandhi must first resign from his post.

Recalling the Emergency days during former prime minister Indira Gandhi's rule, PM Modi said, “It was the Congress which made the nation a prison. Media had to ask Indiraji before publishing something. So, what the youngster Shehzad is saying is not unusual it is the Congress culture.”

Earlier in the day, PM Modi said those opposing the bullet train project should travel on bullock carts.

Modi made the comment while lashing out at the Congress for its criticism of the Rs 1.1 lakh crore project -- which he said was "a negligible price" -- connecting Ahmedabad and Mumbai and to be built by Japan.