'Red caps cared only about red beacons': PM Modi takes a jab at SP during Gorakhpur event

File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a rally

Those wearing lal topi (red caps) cared only about lal batti (red beacons) when they were in power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur on December 7, in an apparent jibe at the Samajwadi Party (SP), the erstwhile ruling party of the state.

The red caps are worn by workers and leaders of SP, which is currently the prime opposition group in the state legislative assembly.

"Today entire UP knows that the 'red caps' cared about 'red beacons' alone. They had nothing to do with your pain and issues. The 'red caps' want power - for scams and for filling their coffers, for illegal encroachments, for providing freedom to mafia," Modi said in Gorakhpur, where he arrived to inaugurate mega projects worth Rs 9,600 crore.

Further slamming the SP, the prime minister claimed that the party would attempt at bringing "terrorists" out of jail if elected to power in the state.

"The 'red caps' want to form a government to show leniency towards terrorists, to bring them out of jails. So always remember that the 'red caps' are red alert for UP - they are bells to danger," news agency ANI quoted Modi as saying.

The prime minister's swipe against the SP comes on a day when the party chief, Akhilesh Yadav, held a joint rally with ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RLD) president Jayant Chaudhary in Meerut. The public meeting assumes significance as Meerut is a crucial hub of western UP, where the BJP has been facing the angst of farmers over the now-repealed central farm laws.

Notably, the SP has tied up with RLD for the upcoming assembly elections in early 2022. The latter has a stronghold in western UP, but was weakened since the BJP's surge in the region from 2014.

Meanwhile, Modi, as part of his official visit to Gorakhpur in eastern UP, inaugurated an AIIMS facility, a fertiliser plant of Hindustan Urvarak Rasayan Ltd and ICMR's Regional Medical Research Centre in the district.

"Everybody knew the importance of Gorakhpur fertiliser plant for farmers and employment here. But previous governments showed no interest in starting it. Everyone knew that AIIMS Gorakhpur has been a long pending demand but the governments before 2017 made excuses in allotting land for it," Modi said.