PM MODI'S MAHA BATTLE CRY: 'EK HAI, TOH SAFE HAI'

Charges against Congress and I.N.D.I.A bloc ■ Opposed to reservation ■ Wants to take Constitution out of J&K ■ Encourage Pak agenda

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off his campaign on Friday for the crucial Maharashtra assembly polls with a unity message of "Ek hai, toh safe hai", building on his party colleague and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath's 'batenge to katenge' slogan.

Modi dared Congress allies in Maharashtra to get party MP Rahul Gandhi to speak for 15 minutes in praise of Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, whose contributions to the country, he said, were unparalleled.

Addressing two poll rallies during the day, the BJP's star campaigner called out the Congress for its "divisive" brand of politics characterized by pitting one caste against another, and maintained since the days of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the party has been opposed to reservation.

Seeking votes for the ruling Mahayuti coalition, he harped on its development agenda and sought to portray the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) as directionless, saying the opposition bloc resembles a vehicle without wheels or brakes with scramble among its partners to occupy the driver's seat.

In his first rally at Dhule in North Maharashtra for the November 20 polls, Modi accused the Congress of pitting one caste against another and urged people to stay united.