Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday launched an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that when the elections are over, people will only remember him as the PM who indulged in "divisive and communal speeches filled with lies" to avoid an inevitable defeat.
Kharge made these remarks in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In the letter to the Prime Minister, Kharge urged him to seek votes on the performance of his government over the last ten years instead of indulging in "hate speeches".
This is the second letter that Kharge has written to the PM in over a week's time. In his last letter, Kharge sought time from the PM to explain in person his party's manifesto titled 'Nyay Patra'.
This time, the Congress president referred to the letter written by PM Modi for NDA candidates ahead of the phase 3 elections. Kharge said, "From the tone and content of the letter it seems that there is a lot of desperation and worry in you which is leading you to use language that does not suit the office of the Prime Minister."
Modi recently wrote personalised letters to all BJP candidates contesting in the third phase of the Lok Sabha election on May 7.
Calling the candidates his “fellow karyakarta”, the PM urged the candidates "to spread the word against the regressive politics of Congress and INDI alliance including their agenda to give reservations to Muslims by snatching it from SC/ST and OBC”.
"They (Congress) are bent on snatching away people's hard-earned money and giving it to their vote bank. The Congress has also made it clear that they will support dangerous ideas like 'inheritance tax'. The country will have to unite to stop them," stated the letter.
"The letter makes it look like the lies in your speeches are not having the effect you intended and now you want your candidates to amplify your lies. Repeating a lie a thousand times will not make it the truth," Kharge said.
The Congress chief said the voters are intelligent enough to read and understand by themselves what the Congress has written in its manifesto and what guarantees it has promised.
"Our guarantees are so simple and clear, that we don't have to explain it to them. For your benefit, I will reiterate them here," Kharge said in his letter and elaborated on the party's Yuva Nyay, Nari Nyay, Kisan Nyay, Shramik Nyay and Hissedari Nyay.
"We have heard you and the Home Minister say that Congress is practising appeasement politics. The only appeasement policy that we have seen in the last 10 years is the appeasement of Chinese by you and your ministers. Even today, you refuse to call China as 'Ghuspaithiye', instead on June 19, 2020, you said 'Na Koi Ghusa Hai, Na Hi Koi Ghus Aaya hai', insulting the supreme sacrifice of 20 Indian soldiers in Galwan," the Congress chief said.
"Your public 'Clean Chit' to China, has weakened India's case and made it more belligerent. Even as tensions escalate due to repeated Chinese transgressions and construction of military infrastructure near LAC in Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Uttarakhand, the imports of Chinese goods to India has increased by 54.76 per cent in the past 5 years alone and has crossed USD 101 billion in 2023-24," he said.
Noting that the PM in his letter to NDA candidates had claimed that reservation will be taken away from SC, ST and OBC and given to the Congress' votebank, Kharge said, "Our votebank is every Indian -- the poor, the marginalised, the women, the aspirational youth, the labour class, the Dalits and the Adivasis. Everyone knows it is the RSS and BJP who opposed reservations at every stage since 1947."
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
