New Delhi, Sep 29 (IANS) Reaching out to his party cadre in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused the Congress of speaking "lies" to mislead "innocent and naive" people and insulting Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel by calling his "Statue of Unity" as one 'Made in China'.
He also alleged that the Congress was playing the role of a "failed" opposition and has now adopted the strategy of spreading fake news about the government and repeating it every day so as to mislead people.
Addressing party workers in select constituencies of the three states and in Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand through video conferencing, he asked every BJP worker to fight against Congress' tactics and expose its lies.
"The Congress as government was corrupt and a failure, which is known to every citizen. In the last four years, the Congress has only spread lies, it has become arrogant, it has drifted away from the people, it has become insensible and it has failed to perform as an opposition," Modi said.
He was asked what the party workers should do to deal with the false and baseless allegations being made by the opposition.
The Prime Minister said the Congress' only agenda is to throw muck on others, spread lies and repeat them loudly and mislead people.
"They spread lies on Statue of Unity that it is Made in China. I saw false information in which the Congress President (Rahul Gandhi) equated the Sardar Patel statue with shoes Made in China," he said.
"They are taking Sardar Patel's name like this. All these years, they have disrespected Sardar Patel," he said, adding: "How far they will go to express their disliking for Sardar Patel?"
Modi's remarks came two days after Gandhi while addressing a public rally in Madhya Pradesh's Satna on Thursday said that the statue being built for him in Gujarat is "Made in China" like the Made in China written on mobile phones, shirts and shoes.
"If you look at their behaviour over the last few days, you will all see the canards they are spreading. Remember, when the government brought the poor of the country closer to bank and banking services, they spread the lie that their money is not safe in banks.
"Everyday they plan and everyday they spread lies. Their motive is to mislead the people of the country, they want to create an atmosphere of fear to do politics," he alleged.
Modi also asked his party workers to do in-depth research on the issues raised by the Congress to give them a befitting reply. He asked them to defend the government and party works through social media platforms and the NaMo app.
Modi said the Congress had no issue left and had to spread lies and create a state of pessimism if they want to win elections.
"They have a long list of lies... But you will find that in the last few days, their lies are being exposed," he said.
"It is important not only to tell people about the work that we have done but also remind the about the state of the country during the Congress rule which people may not remember," Modi said adding only then people would realise the change that has been brought over the last four years.
