PM attacks Cong in U’khand; says it divides people on caste

Almora/Dehradun: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused the Congress of dividing people on caste, region and religion, as he sought another mandate for the BJP, promising it will take development in Uttarakhand to “Himalayan heights”.

Addressing a rally in Almora in the poll-bound state’s Kumaon region, he also said that Uttarakhand’s development is among the top priorities of the BJP’s double engine government.

Attacking opposition Congress in the state, Modi said it has a "divisive policy" and the people of Uttarakhand know it better than anyone else.

"You know the approach of our rivals. They believe in dividing people along caste, religion, region and linguistic lines. Their only formula is 'Sab mein dalo phoot, Mil kar karo loot' (Divide everyone and loot together)," he said.

Modi also said that development is possible only through a non-discriminatory approach. Polling for in Uttarakhand will be held in a single phase on February 14 for the 70-member state assembly.

The development of the state has been among the top priorities of the double engine government and will remain so over the next five years, Modi said.

"We have to take the development of Uttarakhand to Himalayan heights. Like Kedarnath, where development has been given a new impetus, the Manaskhand tourism circuit is to be developed in Kumaon on priority over the next five years," he said.