Gujarat Assembly polls: India forged strong ties with Islamic nations post-2014, Yoga part of Saudi Arabia syllabus, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India developed strong relations with Islamic nations like Saudi Arabia after he assumed office in 2014. Addressing an election rally after leading a road show here on the penultimate day of campaigning for the second phase voting on December 5, he also slammed the Congress and claimed the opposition party and its governments splurged taxpayers' money on "family, relatives, and for their personal use".

"After 2014, India has developed strong relations with Islamic nations. It is a matter of pride for me as well as for every Gujarati that nations like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have conferred their top awards to me. Yoga is now part of the official syllabus in Saudi Arabia," said Modi.

Hindu temples are also coming up in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, the prime minister told the gathering.


Unlike the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which puts nation first, the Congress has always given priority to just one family, said Modi.

According to the PM, the Indian economy ranked 6th in the world when the country got Independence in 1947 and went down to the 10th position by 2014, when the Congress was last in power at the Centre.

"After I assumed office and the BJP came to power in 2014, the economy rose from the 10th spot to the 5th position (in 2022) in eight years. The Congress could not do it because of dynastic politics, scams and appeasement politics," said Modi.

The second phase of voting covering the remaining 93 Gujarat Assembly seats will take place on December 5. Polling for 89 seats in the first phase took place on December 1. The votes polled in all the 182 seats will be counted on December 8.