New Delhi: Congress president and senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought time to explain its party’s election manifesto titled ‘Nyay Patra’ claiming that Modi is being “misinformed” by his advisors on things that are not in the manifesto.
“I would be more than happy to meet you in person to explain our Nyay Patra so that as the Prime Minister you don’t make statements that are false,” he wrote.
In the letter posted on X, Kharge said, he is “neither shocked nor surprised” by Modi’s speeches and the language over the last few days. He further said that it was “expected” that Modi and other BJP leaders would start speaking in this manner after they saw the performance of the BJP in the first phase of elections.
Earlier this week during a rally in Rajasthan, PM Modi courted controversy as he said that the Congress had promised to snatch away the hard-earned money and redistribute it to those “who have many children”.
He had claimed that the Congress manifesto advocates for the redistribution of wealth to Muslims.
Defending the party’s manifesto, Kharge said that the Congress ‘Nyay Patra’ aims at providing justice to the youth, women, farmers, labourers, and marginalised people across all castes and communities.
“Our manifesto is for the people of India – whether they are Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Jain or Buddhist. I think you have still not forgotten your pre-Independence allies the Muslim League and colonial masters,” he said.
“You(Modi) and your government have repeatedly turned away from the atrocities that the poor and backward women are facing in the country. Today, you talk about their mangalsutra. Isn’t your government responsible for the atrocities against women in Manipur, atrocities against Dalit girls, garlanding of rapists? When farmers are committing suicide under your government, how are you protecting their wives and children? Please read about the ‘Nari Nyay’ which we will be Implementing when we come to power.”
He said that Modi has “ruled to snatch the earnings and wealth of the poor” using demonetisation as an “organized loot and legalised plunder” to transfer the money from the poor to the rich in form of loans. “Then these loans were written off by your govt. The lakhs of crores of corporate loans that your govt has written off since 2014 is transfer of wealth from poor to rich. No farmer’s loan was waived off by you,” Kharge added.
On Modi’s “Muslim League imprint” speech in UP earlier this month, Kharge said, “It has become a habit for you to seize on few words taken out of context and create a communal divide.”
Kharge further took a stern note and said that the people would remember that the PM of the country used “vulgar language for fear of losing an election.” He also asked him not to get “carried away” by his “own people” who are clapping at his speeches as they are not allowing him to gear the crores of “right thinking” citizens who are “disappointed” at his speeches.
The Congress chief also referred to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the “suit-boot” government.
He accused the BJP of not having any “concern for the poor” and said, “Your suit-boot ki sarkar works for the corporates whose taxes you have reduced, while the salaried class pays higher taxes. The poor pays GST and rich corporates claim GST refunds.”
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India on Thursday took cognisance of the allegations of violation of the model code of conduct by PM Modi. The panel has asked BJP president JP Nadda to respond by Monday to complaints against PM Modi’s remarks in Banswara.
