Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday criticised the Opposition for trying to stitch up a grand alliance ahead of the 2019 General Elections. “It is the greed for power that those who imposed and those who opposed Emergency have come together today,” Modi said at a rally to mark the 500th death anniversary of poet and saint Kabir Das in Uttar Pradesh’s Maghar.

He once again attacked the Congress for imposing Emergency in 1975. “They don’t see the welfare of society but only the welfare of themselves and their families,” said Modi, according to ANI.

In a veiled reference to former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav seeking time to vacate the government bungalow following a Supreme Court order, Modi said, “There was a government which was more keen to hold back its bungalow. Instead of understanding Kabir and following his message of love and care, the minds of leaders today are occupied by materialistic thoughts of bungalows.”

The prime minister said some parties thrive on unrest and were against peace and development. “They think if there will be unrest, they will be politically benefited,” Modi said. “Such people are cut off from their roots. They don’t know the nature of this nation of Sant Kabir, Mahatma Gandhi [and] Baba Ambedkar.”

The rally in Maghar is seen as the beginning of Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign for the 2019 Lok Sabha election. During his visit to Maghar, Modi also laid the foundation stone for an institute named after Kabir and visited the Sant Kabir cave.