New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday hit back at the Congress over its ‘black paper’ against the Modi government, claiming that the opposition party has brought it to hide its “black deeds” and is in pain as it wants action in corruption cases stopped.
“But this will not happen. PM Modi has made it clear that there will be no compromise on the issue of corruption. There is no place for those who have looted (public money). We will expose your black deeds to people,” BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge released a “black paper” to highlight the alleged failures of the central government.
Those who indulged in corruption and were behind scams worth lakhs of crores of rupees are bringing out the black paper, Prasad said wryly, and asserted that the “story of scams” is over and the country is progressing under Modi’s leadership.
He said the government has weeded out over accounts of over 10 crore fictitious beneficiaries of government schemes.
India was seen as a fragile economy and identified with “policy paralysis” when the Congress-led UPA was in power, while it is now the fifth largest global economy and its forex reserves and foreign investment are on the rise, Prasad told reporters.
He dismissed the Congress’ claim of a rise in price of essential items and unemployment, and cited figures to assert that the Modi government has created a lot of employment and tackled inflation much better than the UPA.
“We will expose the Congress. People are going to give no importance to it,” he said.
The Congress ‘black paper’ highlights issues such as “unemployment, price rise, farmers’ distress, failure to carry out a caste census and injustice to women.”
Attacking Modi, Kharge said he talks of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi when asked about price rise but “they are ruling now and they should answer what they have done.”
PM dubs Cong’s ‘black paper’ as ‘kaala teeka’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday took a jibe at the Congress for coming out with a “black paper” on the NDA government, calling it a “kaala teeka” that will ward off the evil eye on the achievements of his government.
“Whenever a good thing happens, we apply the ‘kaala teeka’ (to ward off the evil eye), and I thank (Mallikarjun) Kharge ji for doing this honour today,” the prime minister said in the Rajya Sabha.
The Congress on Thursday released a “black paper” to highlight the “failures” of the Modi government, alleging that the last 10 years were a period of “injustice” with issues such as rising prices, unemployment, subversion of institutions and “discrimination” against non-BJP states plaguing the country.
Modi said, “When the country is touching new heights in the last ten years, we take it as ‘kala teeka’ to help ward off the evil eye”.
He said Kharge being an elder has put this ‘kaala teeka’ for the good work being done by our government in the country’s progress.
Referring to the black robes earlier worn by opposition MPs in the House as a mark of protest, Modi said, “We also saw a fashion parade in the Rajya Sabha when some members came in black clothes.”
Kharge released a 54-page “charge sheet” indicting the Centre ahead of the government’s tabling in Parliament of a ‘white paper’ on the “mismanagement” of the economy prior to 2014 with an aim to draw lessons.
