Hisar (Haryana):Â Â Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday invoked Congress icons Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi as he campaigned in Haryana, but had a dig at the party for corruption and dynastic rule.
“Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister, Chacha Nehru for children, and I request that on his birth anniversary 14 November, children of all schools be given lessons in cleanliness and hygiene,” Modi said at a rally in Hisar.
“Those who want to pay tribute to Chacha Nehru, should sit with the children loved so much by him and tell them how to lead a healthier life.”
Modi said the cleanliness campaign should be launched between 14 and 19 November, the birth anniversary of former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
“Every school, every anganwadi should participate in this cleanliness campaign in those five days,” he said, adding, “We are not in the politics of untouchability.”
Modi’s references to top Congress leaders comes as the party has accused him of trying to appropriate the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi with his nationwide cleanliness campaign.
Speaking on Robert Vadra’s controversial land deal, the Prime Minister said he had asked the Election Commission to take “appropriate action”.
Modi alleged that Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was pressured by his party leadership to take such a decision. He was referring to media reports that the Hooda government has cleared the deal in Gurgaon between real estate giant DLF and Vadra, by holding as illegal, IAS officer Ashok Khemka’s order cancelling it. Â
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Hooda did not comment on the letter, but alleged that Modi’s speech was “factually incorrect and far from the truth”.
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