Rajnandgaon, Sep 8 (Agency) In a blitzkrieg against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday accused him of safeguarding the interests of business tycoons, neglecting the indigent, making hollow promises, misusing federal agencies, ignoring internal disturbances and muzzling the Fourth Estate. Addressing the Congress’ Bharose ka Sammelan at this district headquarters of election-bound Chhattisgarh, the Rajya Sabha’s Leader of the Opposition alleged, “The BJP is tearing Bharat apart.
Mr Modi has been occupying the prime ministerial saddle for almost a decade. Why is there no accomplishment to his credit? It is because he turns Nelson’s eye to the poverty-stricken and sees only personages such as Mr Gautam Adani and Mr Mukesh Ambani.” Accusing the Prime Minister of “playing the fiddle while riot-ravaged Manipur burns,” the Congress bigwig took a dig at the G20 summit by quipping that every pillar in the national capital boasts a photograph of Mr Modi while there is not even a solitary one depicting Father of the Nation Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru or even a member of Mr Modi’s Council. “Gandhi-ji once said that his vision was of an India where even the poorest individuals feel that the country is theirs. However, Mr Modi cannot rein in inflation and unemployment. He had promised two crore jobs per annum. Where are 20 crore employment opportunities? He assured that Rs 15 lakh would be deposited in every citizen’s bank account after black money stashed abroad is brought back to our shores. He announced that agrarian income would increase. How can a Prime Minister who represents a populace of 140 crore utter untruth?” Mr Kharge asked rhetorically. Regarding the controversy over the name of the Indian National Inclusive Developmental Alliance (I.N.D.I.A), he underlined that the Constitution clearly lays down that India and Bharat are synonymous.
“If there is such hatred for ‘India’ then who gave the names Startup India, Digital India, Skill India, Make in India, India Shining, Padhega India toh Badhega India and Khelo India? This mentality has to be combated. As part of the renaming exercise, the Nehru Museum is now the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya. I fail to comprehend this sheer hatred for Pandit Nehru. Mr Modi is shown on television taking morning walks at his residence but does not attend Parliament regularly,” he quipped. Alleging that “almost everyone is being trapped these days;” Mr Kharge said that print and electronic media journalists are being intimidated, served notices and incarcerated. “A scribe whose dwelling was raided said that Mr Modi will order searching of every abode, appropriate books and even if a pen is seized from a person’s pocket, he or she shall be taken into custody. The Comptroller and Auditor General’s Report has mentioned inconsistencies in governance,” he added. The Congress head claimed that Chhattisgarh serves as a stark contrast to Mr Modi’s Gujarat ‘model’ where the maximum number of children “fell victim” to malnourishment. “During his sojourns to this state, he only delivers addresses and then departs. In fact, he does not permit others to speak.
My BJP counterpart Jagat Prakash Nadda, Union Home Affairs and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah and others pay visits only when polls are round the corner. However, nobody asks what expectations the electorate has from the Centre. Mr Shah speaks of report cards! The motive is to destroy Chhattisgarh by using the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation. When a Congress session was underway in this state, Congress leaders’ places were raided for instilling trepidation. During the Raman Singh regime, he distributed resources among his own people. There was a time when minimal paddy was purchased from peasants and the monthly unemployment allowance was a scanty Rs 300 per person,” the octogenarian stressed during his 41-minute-long speech. Rajnandgaon is the Assembly constituency of BJP Vice President and erstwhile chief minister Raman Singh. The renowned Maa Bamleshwari temple is situated in this district’s Dongargarh.