People don't want me to leave: PM Modi after North-East results

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday celebrated the success of BJP and its allies in the three states in the North-East by saying it shows people don't want him to leave.

"Woh kahte hain ki Modi tu mar ja, janta kehti hai Modi tu mat ja (They are chanting death for Modi, but people are saying, 'Modi don't go')," the PM said in a reference to slogans raised recently by AAP workers during protests over the arrest of their leader and Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia.

Election Results 2023 | Tripura Election Result 2023 | Nagaland Election Result 2023 | Meghalaya Election Result

The PM also hit out at Congress for its slogan that they had prepared Modi's grave. "There is a section of people aspiring to dig graveyards for BJP. However, the lotus continues to bloom," Modi said. "Thursday's poll results show the North-East's distance from Delhi has disappeared. Let's salute the commitment of the people of the North-East towards the country and their patriotism," he added.

At the party headquarters, he urged the BJP workers to turn on their mobile flashlights as a mark of gratitude to the people of the North-East and BJP workers from the region. The PM said that with every election, the security shield provided to BJP by the women voters was becoming stronger. He recalled the recent elevation of Phangnon Konyak as first woman Rajya Sabha MP from Nagaland and said the victory of the first women in Nagaland assembly polls is a matter of pride for women across the country.

The PM also said that the verdict shattered different narratives of the opposition parties and their ecosystem. "They used to call BJP a party of baniyas, then of cities and then of middle class. From time to time such narratives have been shattered and it was seen during the recent Gujarat polls when BJP returned with resounding performance in tribal areas," he said. He said the opposition's refrain that "minorities are scared" had been proved wrong by people of Goa and now the in Christian-dominated Nagaland and Meghalaya which have also witnessed expansion of BJP's footprint. Modi also referred to the Left-Congress alliance in Tripura, saying the two parties have exposed themselves and their equations behind the curtains.

"People can see through it. In one state you turn allies, and in another, opponents. Both parties are looting the state of Kerala together and I am confident the day is not far when BJP and its allies will form a government in Kerala too," he said, highlighting contradictions within the opposition camp.

The PM said that the remarks of Congress leaders about the verdict have once again shown their mindset and how lowly they think about smaller states. "The Congress president is saying that these are small states, they hardly matter. It is ironic that such parties and their leaders talk about connecting hearts," said Modi in an apparent dig at the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

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