'Aghadi the biggest players of corruption': PM Modi’s scathing attack on MVA in Maharashtra

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday attacked the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra, accusing it of being the biggest players pf corruption. He also accused the MVA parties of stalling development in the state.

"Maharashtra's rapid development is beyond the reach of the Aghadi. They have done a PhD in putting a brake on developmental works. The Congress has a double PhD in it, he said. Aghadi yani bhrastrachar ke sab se bade khiladi (Aghadi means the biggest players of corruption),” the prime minister said, addressing a rally at Chimur in Chandrapur district.

The state goes to assembly polls on November 20 and Modi is leading the BJP’s campaign in its prestige battle. The saffron party is part of the ruling alliance that also included Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

In his rally, the prime minister ripped into the Congress party and the Gandhi family, saying it has always been the mentality of the 'shahi parivar' that it was born to rule the country.

“This is the reason that after Independence, the Congress never allowed Dalits, backward classes and Adivasis to progress,” he said.

He further targeted the opposition party over the issue of reservation and accused it of trying to break the unity of the people.

“The Congress gets irritated with (the issue of) reservation. In the 1980s, when Rajiv Gandhi led the party, it published an advertisement raising questions over the special rights enjoyed by Dalits, backward classes and Adivasis,” Modi said, adding that this old advertisement, widely shared on social media, reflected that party's anti-reservation attitude.

In Chimur, too, Modi reiterated the unity mantra that he has been raising throughout his campaign in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. 

“If we stay united, we will be safe. If you do not remain united, then the Congress will snatch away your reservation,” the prime minister cautioned the voters.