New Delhi, Jun 28 (NIE): Setting the tone for the upcoming General Elections in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi targetted a united opposition in his speech on Thursday to mark the 500th death anniversary of the 15th-century mystic poet, Sant Kabir Das.

PM Modi said the lure of power was such that the people behind the Emergency and those who opposed it have now joined hands. “Two days ago it was the 43 rd anniversary of Emergency. The lure of power is such that people who imposed it and those who opposed it have come together. They are just bothered about themselves and their family but not the society,” he said at a meeting in Maghar.

In a tacit understanding ahead of last month’s Kairana Lok Sabha bye-election, the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samajwadi Party, Congress and Rashtriya Lok Dal have fielded a common candidate. Earlier, the SP-BSP alliance wrested the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats from the BJP.

Taking a swipe at the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, the prime minister said, “Those who always talk of ‘samajwad’ and ‘bahujan’ are extremely selfish. They don’t see the welfare of society but only the welfare of themselves and their families”.

In a sharp attack at former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, PM Modi said people who claim to follow Kabir are more worried about big bungalows.

After a Supreme Court ruling, the state government had issued notices to six former chief ministers — Narayan Dutt Tiwari, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Kalyan Singh, Mayawati, Rajnath Singh and Akhilesh Yadav. Barring ailing Congress veteran ND Tiwari, whose wife has sought more time to vacate the house, all of them have handed over their official bungalows. The former UP CM and ruling BJP government traded charges on alleged damage to the government accommodation in Lucknow, which was vacated by him.

Ambedkar advocated for equality in society, PM Modi said, but there are parties that are using his ideals for political gains.

PM Modi also said a few parties feel they would gain politically if the atmosphere is vitiated. “Some parties don’t need peace and development, they only need discord and turmoil. They feel that the more vitiated the atmosphere is, the more they would gain politically. The truth is, such people are cut off from ground realities. They don’t realise that this is the land of Sant Kabir, Mahatma Gandhi, Baba Saheb,” he said.

In 2014, PM Modi had chosen Varanasi to kickstart his party’s election campaign in UP. This time he chose Maghar, which is 200km from Varanasi. It is known as a ‘Gateway to Hell’ as locals believe that anyone who dies here goes straight to hell. It was this superstition that the 15th century poet and mystic Kabir — known for his message of tolerance — had sought to dispel when he travelled to Maghar to breathe his last.

Earlier today, PM Modi offered ‘chadar’ at the ‘mazar’ of Sant Kabir Das and laid the foundation stone of a research institute name after the 15th century mystic poet. The research institute is expected to come up at a cost of Rs 24 crore.

He also visited the Sant Kabir cave and unveiled a plaque to mark the laying of the foundation stone of the Kabir Academy, which will highlight the saint’s teachings and philosophy. The prime minister earlier landed at Lucknow airport and flew to Maghar.