(L) Jairam Ramesh; (R) Narendra Modi.
Credit: PTI Photos
New Delhi: The Congress on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that there is no 'Modi wave' in the country, but only poison spread by him.
"There is no Modi wave in this election, there is only Modi poison," said AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh.
Reacting to Modi's attack on the Congress in Bihar, Ramesh said, 'the prime minister has once again falsely talked about 'Inheritance tax' in Bihar. He is resorting to falsehood. What else can we expect from the prime minister.'
Ramesh alleged that Modi wants to divert attention from the issues of unemployment, price rise, and inflation and other economic problems faced by the people of the country.
Ramesh in another post on X cited a few instances which termed 'Danger signs for our democracy since Phase I voting on April 19th 2024.'
He wrote, "The BJP connived and intimidated to ensure that its candidate in Surat Lok Sabha gets 'elected unopposed'. In 6 districts in Eastern Nagaland, voter turnout was close to 0% because of the Home Ministry's failure to convince the Eastern Nagaland Peoples' Organisation (ENPO) to call off its abstention from elections."
Ramesh said this was the first time since 1963, when Nagaland attained statehood, that there was a widespread abstention from voting.
In Inner Manipur Lok Sabha seat, Ramesh claimed, militia groups conducted wholesale booth capturing on video. Up to 47 polling stations were impacted, and the ECI is conducting a re-poll in at least 11 stations, he said.
'Today, in Ukhrul District, Outer Manipur Lok Sabha, voters were forced to vote only for the NPF, the BJP's alliance partner, rather than the Congress. The security forces stood there mutely as our democracy was hijacked.
'The Prime Minister has been indulging in the most shameful, false communal rhetoric with zero consequences from the Election Commission,' he alleged.
I.N.D.I.A. coalition's candidate in Khajuraho Lok Sabha, Meera Yadav, found her nomination rejected, the Congress leader claimed.
'To save demo-kursi, they have murdered democracy itself. It needs to be reiterated: this is the most consequential election of our lifetimes,' he said.
Earlier in the day, addressing poll rallies in Bihar, Modi hailed the Supreme Court judgement on EVMs and dubbed it as a 'tight slap' in the face of opposition parties.
Modi, who addressed election rallies in Araria and Munger Lok Sabha constituencies, also accused the opposition of trying to 'steal' reservations meant for OBCs, SCs and STs 'for the sake of their favourite vote bank of Muslims.'
Recalling the instances of booth capturing when ballot papers were used, Modi said, 'The Congress, the RJD and the INDIA bloc were unable to bear the empowerment of poor and upright voters and they had been trying their best to ensure that EVMs were done away with.'
'All leaders of the INDIA bloc have committed the sin of creating distrust in the minds of people against EVMs. But today, the Supreme Court has delivered such a deep shock that their dreams have been shattered into pieces,' Modi said.
Modi also claimed that the UPA government headed by Manmohan Singh gave its 'assent' for reservations to Muslims.
'I will not allow reservations meant for SCs, STs and OBCs to be diverted for vote bank politics. This is Modi's guarantee,' he said.
The PM reiterated his allegation that the Congress manifesto bore 'the imprint of Muslim League.' BJP president J P Nadda also cited then-prime minister Manmohan Singh's 2006 statement in which he had reportedly said that minorities, especially Muslims, have the first right on the country's resources.
The Congress took exception to the statement and claimed that Modi and Nadda presented Manmohan Singh's comments in a wrong context only to polarise the election.
Ramesh said that the then-prime minister's reference to 'first right on resources' referred to all the 'priority' areas listed, including SCs, STs, OBCs, women, children and the programmes for the upliftment of minorities.
Congress media department head Pawan Khera said some of the recent statements of Modi were unbecoming of a prime minister.
'The prime minister is telling fabricated stories, telling lies... he should have at least read our manifesto...
"The job of a prime minister is not to make the society fight among itself. Elections keep coming and going... but in the meantime, if INDIA (opposition alliance) loses, the Constitution loses, communal harmony loses and it will not be tolerated," he told reporters.
Khera claimed that Rahul Gandhi, who is contesting from Kerala's Wayanad, will score a triumphant victory from the seat.
"Wayanad is a very important seat among the seats where voting took place today. Our popular leader Rahul Gandhi is contesting the election from there. Last time, he won by more than four lakh votes. This time he will break all records of victory," the Congress leader said.