Congress against development and heritage, opposed Ram Temple: Modi in Uttarakhand

Modi, the supreme leader of BJP, has slammed Congress for "opposing" the Ram Temple, which was consecrated on January 22 in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.

He said, "Congress is against both development and heritage. Congress questioned the existence of Lord Ram, opposed the Ram temple, and created as many obstacles as it could.

"Even after this, those building the Ram temple forgave all the sins of the Congress and invited them for the Praan-Pratishtha. But the Congress boycotted that too."

"Now the Congress has vowed to destroy the power that exists in Hinduism. These statements of Congress will add fuel to the fire in the conspiracies being hatched to destroy the faith of Uttarakhand. It is the responsibility of all of us to protect the culture of Uttarakhand," the Prime Minister added.

In his address, Modi raised the corruption issue and accused the previous Congress regime of looting.

"When the Congress government was in power, middlemen used to steal people's money. Now people's money is being transferred directly to their bank accounts. Modi has stopped this looting, hence their anger towards Modi is at its peak," the Prime Minister said.

On his 'Make in India' push in the defence sector, Modi highlighted how his government worked towards the security of the Army.

He said, "During the Congress regime, the soldiers did not even have bulletproof jackets. There was no proper arrangement to protect them from enemy bullets.

"It is the BJP which gave bulletproof jackets made in India to its soldiers, saving their lives. Today, everything from modern rifles to fighter planes and aircraft carriers is being made in the country itself."

The five Lok Sabha seats in Uttarakhand will go to polls on April 19.