Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday came down heavily on the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi over the alleged corruption in the now scrapped excise policy and slammed the Congress for embracing the AAP at the instance of the party’s ‘royal family’ for vote bank politics.

”Delhi aur Haryana mein Dosti, Punjab mein kushti (friendship in Delhi and Haryana, wrestling in Punjab). This is what the INDIA bloc is,” he said while addressing an election rally at Ghonda in North-East Delhi in support of BJP MP candidates–Manoj Tiwari from North-East Delhi, Harsh Malhotra from East Delhi and Praveen Khandelwal from Chandni Chowk constituency in the national capital.

PM Modi was obviously referring to the seat adjustment between the AAP and the Congress in Delhi and Haryana but they are fighting against each other in Punjab.

Without directly referring to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other top leaders of AAP, PM Modi alleged they had indulged in corruption worth crores of rupees in the liquor scam and were now visiting jails.

“The same Congress party, which was earlier taking the credit for exposing the liquor scam, was now supporting the AAP and was silent on the scam,” the Prime Minister said.

Hitting out at the Congress-AAP alliance in Delhi, the Prime Minister said: “The INDI Alliance is hell-bent on creating hindrances to development works.They are responsible for breaking the trust of the people.”

The PM further said: “They formed the government to end corruption, but now they are busy defending themselves against corruption charges.”

“Amid development works happening here, the INDIA alliance is busy destroying Delhi…They are not leaving any opportunity to loot the people of Delhi. These people had come in the name of eliminating corruption, but today they are in jail due to scams worth crores of rupees,” he said.

PM Modi hit out at the grand old party on contesting three Lok Sabha seats in the national capital, saying that “Four generations of the Congress ruled in Delhi, but today such is the state of the party that they can’t even contest on four seats here.”

The Prime Minister said the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are crucial for positioning India as the third-largest economy globally. “They are also pivotal to safeguarding India from the parties which could bankrupt India,” he said.

“The 2024 elections are crucial to defeat the mindset of nepotism that has shattered the dreams of our youth for decades, and to defeat those forces that want to weaken India. Indian polity needs a stable government. The National Capital must become an attraction for the world. That’s why the country needs ‘Phir ek baar, Modi sarkar’,” the Prime Minister said.

Talking about the G20 Summit, PM Modi said, “During the G20 Summit, global leaders were awestruck by the transformation of Delhi.”

“Today, Delhi boasts modern convention centers like Bharat Mandapam and Yashobhoomi, along with landmarks such as the National War Memorial and the New Parliament building, enhancing our sense of pride!,” he said.

The Prime Minister said he is dedicated to making the lives of people in Delhi easier.

“We are working to regularize the unauthorized colonies of Delhi. Alongside that, we are working to provide slum dwellers with pucca houses,” PM Modi said.

At the venue of his public address in the North-East Delhi constituency, PM Modi met Pakistani refugees who got Indian citizenship under CAA recently.

A delegation comprising several foreign delegates including Singapore High Commissioner Simon Wong and Nepali Ambassador Dr Shankar P Sharma also attended PM Modi’s public meeting.

The seven Lok Sabha constituencies in the national capital are New Delhi, South Delhi, East Delhi, West Delhi, Chandni Chowk, North West and North East Delhi.

Voting for all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi is scheduled to take place on May 25, during the sixth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

The counting of votes for all the seven phases of the Lok Sabha polls will be held on June 4.