New Delhi: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge during a press conference.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday panned the BJP's manifesto as a "jumla patra" that fails to mention inflation and unemployment. The grand old party accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of failing to fulfil previous promises over the past ten years.
The party questioned the status of commitments made on job creation, doubling farmers' incomes, and addressing price rise and inflation. It alleged that the BJP is now shifting goalposts to avoid scrutiny.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "No accountability for old guarantees, just empty jugglery of words! 'Modi ki Guarantee' equals 'warranty of jumlas (rhetoric)." Kharge alleged that Modi did not undertake any meaningful initiatives that would benefit the people, youth, and farmers of the country.
Posing questions on 14 promises made by the BJP, he asked, "What happened to providing two crore jobs annually to the youth? What happened to doubling the income of farmers? What happened to Cost + 50% of the MSP of farmers? What happened to the Rs 15 lakh in each bank account?... What happened to the 100 new SMART Cities? What happened to Ganga cleaning till 2020?"
In 2024, he said India will defeat the sloganeers. "Only India will win, The flag of justice will fly!" he added.
Top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also echoed Kharge's remarks, posting on X, "Two words are missing from BJP's manifesto and Narendra Modi's speech - inflation and unemployment. BJP does not even want to discuss the most important issues related to people's lives."
He said the I.N.D.I.A. bloc's plan is "Very clear -- recruitment for 30 lakh posts and a permanent job of Rs 1 lakh to every educated youth. This time the youth is not going to fall into the trap of Modi, now they will strengthen the hands of Congress and bring an 'employment revolution' in the country."
The party's Social Media and Digital Platforms head Supriya Shrinate described the manifesto as a "jumla patra".
Media Department chairperson Pawan Khera recalled the 2014 manifesto promises and said the BJP promised a special task force to bring back black money stashed abroad but instead introduced electoral bonds. Similarly, there was a promise to strengthen law and order in the North East but Manipur is witnessing violence today while Modi is silent, Khera said.
He also alleged that Modi promised that poverty in 100 districts would be eradicated through a special package, but the Hunger Index reveals a different truth. "The public is fed up with these promises of Narendra Modi and is extremely angry. We have strong objections to the name of BJP's 'Sankalp Patra', it should be named 'Maafinama'. Modi ji should have apologised to the Dalits, farmers, youth and tribals of the country," Khera said.
Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh posted on X, “The BJP's ‘Modifesto’ is 76 pages long. It has 53 photos of the Camerajeevi. It is a farewell memento to the man who in the past ten years has distorted, damaged, denied, diverted, denigrated, and defamed.”