Congress and its leaders cannot digest the son of poor, Dalit, deprived, backward class reaching the highest position in the country, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said while welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a public meeting at Sampurnanand Sanskrit University Grounds here on Friday.

At the function, the prime minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of 28 projects worth Rs 1,780 crore.

“Congress has always done the politics of dividing the country and has promoted Naxalism and terrorism for its political gains,” the chief minister alleged.

Continuing his blistering attack, Yogi said that the nation had been witness to how former Congress president and MP Rahul Gandhi gave a statement against Dalits, poor, backward and underprivileged, throwing parliamentary decorum to the winds and stooped to the level of being in contempt of court.

He added that Congress must apologise to the country for insulting the poor, Dalits and backward people.

Yogi Adityanath said that India was presiding over the G-20, a group of 20 most powerful countries of the world, in the year of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, which was a proof of India's growing influence in the world.

“Whether it is to establish new paradigms of material development or to restore spiritual development, not only the country but the world is seeing the new power of India. Under the leadership of the prime minister, India has set a new example in front of the world. While on one hand the world is feeling proud of India's progress and is eager to adopt this model, on the other, there are some people who criticise UP outside despite having ruled the state for generations and even have no qualms in putting India in the dock itself when they go abroad,” Yogi remarked.

Targeting the Congress further, the chief minister said that the Congress today was even questioning the electronic voting machine (EVM) with which they got the privilege of forming the government in 2004 and 2009.

He said that the party was upset that India was developing. “It is their habit to put barriers at every level in every campaign of the prime minister. Congress never thought about the development of the country. These people always tried to divide the country in the name of caste, religion and language. They compartmentalised development and set new records of corruption during their tenure. Today, when India is going to shine at the global level, these people are obstructing the progress of the country by defaming it,” Yogi Adityanath pointed out.

The chief minister said that in contrast to the Congress, which was increasing disharmony among castes, the government of today was moving forward with the motto ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka prayas’ for the last nine years and was working for the progress of all sections of society without any discrimination.

“The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is providing welfare, housing, toilets, ration, cooking gas, electricity connections to the poor. Whether it is the Ayushman Bharat scheme or other facilities of development, all these are reaching everyone equally without any discrimination,” the chief minister said.

He added that the prime minister had come to Kashi on Friday to give it a new and grand look through projects. He said that the prime minister, who was a member of Parliament from Kashi, had special association with the place and every time he visited the city he brought some gift to the city.

“With the inauguration/stone laying of projects worth Rs 1,780 crore, Kashi has already become new and grand. Under the inspiration and guidance of the prime minister, not only Kashi, UP and the whole country has achieved new heights of development,” Yogi said, adding that Kashi has got global recognition in the last nine years not only for its rich spiritual and cultural heritage, but also for the level of development taking place in the city.

He pointed out that in the last nine years, projects worth Rs 35,000 crore have either been completed or are about to be inaugurated in Kashi alone, which will be dedicated to the people of Kashi in the next visit of the prime minister.