Terming terrorism the biggest threat facing India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said terror factories running in the neighbourhood are waiting for a weak government here.

This is a new India which will strike terrorists in their den, within the border and outside it, he said at an election rally, about 25 km from the temple town of Ayodhya, in which he focussed much of his attention on the dangers of terrorism.

Gosaiganj is in the same district as Ayodhya but falls in the Ambedkarnagar Lok Sabha constituency.

Recalling the Easter Day blasts across Sri Lanka, he said, “We saw what happened in Sri Lanka. The same situation prevailed in our country before 2014. Can we forget the blast in Ayodhya? There were terrorist attacks on a daily basis.”

In the past five years, he asserted, news of such blasts have stopped.

“This doesn’t mean terrorism has stopped. Terror factories are running in our neighbourhood. It is an industry there and it is their business. They are waiting for a weak government. They are waiting for a chance,” the Prime Minister said.

If the country is safe, our aspirations will be fulfilled, Modi said at the rally to mobilise support for BJP candidates Mukut Bihari Verma (Ambedkar Nagar) and Lallu Singh (Ayodhya).

“To keep our culture and country safe, you all should press the lotus button,” he told the crowd.

Hits out at SP-BSP

He also hit out at the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance and the Congress, accusing the parties of being soft on terrorism. “Their record shows that agencies used to catch terrorists only to be let off for the sake of votes. They want to form a ‘ mazboor ’ (weak) government. You have to remain alert,” he said.

He told the crowd that their love is his capital and energy and said this was the land of Ram, the land of the country’s pride.

In a scathing attack against the SP and the BSP, he said they had done nothing for the poor and misused the names of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Ram Manohar Lohia.

“ Behenji (BSP supremo Mayawati) used Babasaheb Ambedkar’s name but acted against his ideals. In the same way, the SP took Lohia’s name at every step but sullied the image of the socialist leader,” he said.

Meanwhile, at a rally in Madhya Pradesh, modi said: “The Congress people have so much hatred for your Modi that they are even dreaming of killing him. But they are forgetting that people from Madhya Pradesh and India are batting for me.” He said this while referring to alleged statement of a Congress leader against him.

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