Thiruvananthapuram: With the second phase of Lok Sabha elections just a day away, the Congress alleged on Wednesday Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “frustrated” and “afraid of invisible voters” who support the grand old party and accused him of using communal polarisation to secure votes.
Addressing a press conference here, AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge hit out at Modi and asked him if the BJP had such great confidence about their victory in the LS polls and the Congress is nothing, why is the Prime Minister bothered about them.
He also slammed Modi for his recent “mangalsutra’ references against the Congress and said the party leaders have lived and made sacrifices for the nation.
The veteran Congress leader questioned if any leader of the BJP-RSS had ever made sacrifices for the nation and said they didn’t even participate in the national movement.
“For elections, Modi ji is lying to the people that their mangalsutra shall not be safe. Congress governed this country for 55 years. Has that even happened once?” Kharge said.
Explaining the sacrifices made by Congress leaders, he further said Indira Gandhi had donated her jewellery during the 1962 war while Motilal Nehru and Jawaharlal Nehru donated their houses for the freedom movement.
Stating that the Congress had great expectations after the first phase of the polls was completed, the AICC chief said he had travelled to nearly 10-12 states and claimed his party was getting a very good response from voters there.
“I hope the undercurrent, that I can say, is not visible, but Modiji is afraid of these invisible voters who will come out in the election, and that’s why he is always criticising the Congress,” Kharge told reporters here.
If BJP will get 400 seats this time and they have such great confidence, then why is the saffron party welcoming corrupt people to their fold, he asked.
“You (the BJP) say on one side that Modi never tolerates corruption. Then you purchase…instead of purchase, I will say you lured nearly 444 MLAs, irrespective of parties which they belong to,” he further said.
He alleged the BJP also welcomed 23 big people, including chief ministers, contractors and others in the past and as soon as they joined the saffron party, “they became clean.”
Taking a dig at BJP, he further said as long as they were with the Congress or other opposition parties, those leaders were very corrupt.
“I am not able to understand that a man who ruled this country for nearly 10 years as a PM and for nearly 13 and a half years as a chief minister is not able to distinguish who is corrupt…who is good…and who is bad,” he said.
It is unfortunate for the country that such a man is ruling, he said, adding that Modi and Amit Shah have very big “washing machines” to clean up corrupt people.
Accusing the Prime Minister of acting like a “petty politician,” the AICC president said he had forgotten everything he had said earlier and during the 2019 elections.
He recalled how Modi had promised to give Rs 15 lakh to every family and double income of farmers. The PM also announced he would bring back black money kept outside by Congress, Kharge said.
Taking a dig at the PM, he said “When I say Modiji you are a liar, then people ask why Khargeji is calling a Prime Minister a liar like this. Because these are facts…you cannot hide.”
The AICC chief also criticised Modi’s guarantee slogan being used by the PM and BJP during the campaign this time and said his (Modi’s) guarantee is that he will not fulfill promises he is making.
Alleging the Prime Minister was thoroughly “frustrated,” he said that’s why Modi is saying the Congress would take the money and other assets of the Hindu community and give them to Muslims.
“Has he said that or not? That’s why I request you (media)…appeal to you…you highlight these things…to save this country…to save democracy and to save Constitution,” he said.
Criticising Modi’s alleged reference to Muslims as a community that has more children, Kharge accused the PM of using communal polarisation to secure votes.
“I have got five children. What can I do?” he asked on a lighter note.
He said when he and his wife decided not to have more children, his father forbade him from taking such a decision.
“And, today, Modi is telling you (people), in the name of religion, that your property will be taken away by those who have more children,” Kharge said.
Slamming Modi for giving religious connotation to the number of children, the Congress leader pointed out that even Ambedkar was the 14th child in his family.
Accusing the PM of trying to destroy the country by connecting everything with religion, Kharge wanted him to read more about this country’s history and learn how to keep the nation united.
Kharge said the UDF candidates in Kerala sought votes based on the work they have done for the people and said his party hoped to win all 20 seats in the state.
The AICC chief, however, didn’t respond to a question as to who was Congress’ main rival in the state- CPI(M) or BJP- in the April 26 polls.
Asked about BJP’s criticism of Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s inheritance tax remark, he said the Congress did not have any such intentions.
“There is a Constitution. We do not have any intention. Why are you trying to put his words into our mouths? He (Modi) is just doing this for votes. Take it from me,” Kharge added.
Pitroda, the president of the Indian Overseas Congress, spoke about inheritance tax law in the United States and referred to the “redistribution of wealth” issue, which came in for criticism from PM Modi.
