Lucknow: Addressing BJP's parivartan rally here, which he said was the biggest of his life, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hit out at the Samajwadi Party and BSP for "banishing" development from Uttar Pradesh and urged the people to rise above caste and vote for progress.
At the same time, he asserted that when the entire Opposition was clamouring for his head, he was determined to end corruption.
"There is this party, which for the last 15 years has been struggling to establish their son as an acceptable leader," PM Modi said targeting Congress and its vice president Rahul Gandhi.
"There is another, which is busy trying to settle its ill-gotten money in various banks and escape scrutiny," he said, in an apparent reference to Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party.
And he targeted the ruling SP by saying, "Then there is this third party which is busy trying to save their family from breaking up."
"In the past few weeks, we have seen bitter foes and arch rivals like the SP and BSP come together to seek my removal. When they are all clamouring to remove Modi, I am saying remove corruption and black money," he said, pointing to his November 8 decision to demonetise Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes that caused an unprecedented cash crunch.
Claiming that development work was carried out by the BJP when it ruled Uttar Pradesh until it lost power 14 years ago, PM Modi accused successive governments of indulging in politics at the cost of progress.
"Parties should not play politics with the poor, voters and farmers but in UP politics comes in the way of development. It pains me when I see how governments in the state have functioned. Even for building a road, they first measure political considerations. Development is not their preference. The Centre in the last two and a half years provided Rs 2.5 lakh crore to the state. Had this money been properly utilised, UP's condition wouldn't be like it is now," he said, as per IANS.
"People of UP have to decide if a party whose leaders are busing saving their money will be able to save UP. Or the party which is completely occupied in family (infighting) will be able to save UP. Somebody has to save money, somebody has to save family but it is only us who are here to save UP," the Prime Minister said.
He further said that not just BJP, but the state's development had been "exiled" for 14 years and the situation will change soon.
"People of the state have already seen politics of caste and family... For once rise above caste and vote only for development in the elections and see whether UP changes or not," PM Modi said.
Seeking full majority in the coming elections, he said, "I have to tell people that they should not bring a change which is half-baked and ensure a government with full majority so that there is no impediment in development."
Starting his speech by eulogising former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee who represented Lucknow in the Lok Sabha, he said that the BJP patriarch will be very satisfied to see people's response here.
Invoking Bhimrao Ambedkar, the Prime Minister claimed that some people were troubled when his government launched Bhim mobile app named after the Dalit icon.
"Will politics stoop so low... We launched Bhim mobile app a couple of days ago and named it after Bhimrao Ambedkar who was an expert in economy... If dealings in the future business is named after Bhim why is it troubling some people. I want that we go to villages to all those carrying mobile phone and ask them to download the app and remember Bhim everywhere... This will be the biggest tribute to Bhimrao Ambedkar," he said, as per PTI.
Referring to his New Year eve address when he launched schemes for the poor, he said some people were troubled by it also.
"They are troubled when Modi takes money and also when gives it (to the poor). Their problem is that their chairs are shaking. They have become irrelevant and are looking for lost ground by indulging in politics of opposing," he said, adding that he has taken a resolve to return what has been snatched away from the deprived and middle class.
"The central government now takes decisions on its own. The country has got a PM, a government whose high command is only people. It has happened for the first time in 30 years that there is a government whose high command is the 125 crore people of India," he said.
PM Modi said that "the massive turnout" at the sprawling Ramabai Ambedkar rally sthal showed which way the wind was blowing.
These elections could be an issue of who becomes CM or MLA for other parties, but for BJP the coming elections are not about winning or losing, PM Modi said.
"I want to tell BJP workers that the UP elections are not an issue of victory or defeat but an election which will assign you responsibility for which we have to become capable and move ahead. We are going to get this big responsibility," he said adding parytmen will have to move ahead with the motto of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas'.
Later tweeting about it, PM Modi thanked people for turning out in huge numbers.
उत्तर प्रदेश की जनता का बहुत-बहुत आभार। परिवर्तन रैली के दौरान इतना विराट दृश्य देखने का सौभाग्य मिला। https://t.co/Tpinyj5GvN pic.twitter.com/IQHlM7GSii
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 2, 2017
(With Agency inputs)
