On the eve of 100 days of his third stint in power and his 74th birthday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged fellow Gujaratis to be on the guard, stressing that the state was being targeted by forces trying to divide and defame the country.

Modi was addressing a rally after inaugurating and laying the foundations of various projects in his home state. He obliquely slammed the Opposition for “spreading negativity”. The Modi 3.0 government completes 100 days on Tuesday, coinciding with the Prime Minister’s 74th birthday.

“On one hand, every citizen of the country wants to become India’s brand ambassadors to the world. On the other hand, in the same country, some people full of negativity are doing the opposite,” Modi said.

“These people are attacking the unity of the country. These people who are hungry for power want to break India into pieces,” he added, going on to accuse the Opposition of supporting the restoration of Article 370 to buttress his point.

“They want to bring back Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. They want to implement the rule of two constitutions and two laws in Jammu and Kashmir again. People full of negativity do not leave any opportunity to defame India,” he said.

At this juncture, Modi sought to caution fellow Gujaratis and asked them to be on the guard against people with negativity, seeking to obliquely refer to the Opposition. “These people are continuously targeting Gujarat also. Therefore, Gujarat has to be cautious of them,” he said.

Modi’s caution to Gujaratis appeared to be in the context of leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the state in July. Addressing party workers in Ahmedabad, Rahul had asked them to prepare for the next Assembly polls, stressing that the Congress would defeat the BJP in the state as it did in Ayodhya in the Lok Sabha polls. “The way we defeated the BJP in Ayodhya, we are going to defeat them in Gujarat…,” Rahul had said.

Modi on Monday referred to the completion of 100 days of his government in his speech and used this to target the Opposition. Modi alleged that the Opposition had mocked and insulted him in these 100 days.

“In these 100 days, I was mocked and insulted. All sorts of things were said about me. People wondered why I was silent. I remained silent for the sake of the country,” he said, claiming that he had worked day and night and taken big decisions in the 100 days.

Modi expressed his pride in being a Gujarati, a son of the soil where Vallabhbhai Patel was born, stressing that he would continue to work silently for the people despite being provoked by the forces out to defame the country.