Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh.
Credit: PTI Photo
Kota: Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of spreading 'lies' against the Congress, party general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Thursday called him 'jhooth ke jagatguru', days after the prime minister mocked Rahul Gandhi as the 'leader of fools' during campaigning for assembly polls.
Addressing a press conference here, Ramesh took potshots at the BJP and Modi and claimed the Congress will retain power in Rajasthan because of its development and welfare schemes.
"The BJP is 'Bhartiya Jhooth Party' and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is its key face. In Congress, the organisation is supreme and it is the only face of the party."
"We will get a full mandate in the upcoming assembly election and Congress will form the government in Rajasthan," Ramesh said as campaigning peaked in the state ahead of the November 25 assembly election.
Ramesh credited Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra for the Congress' victory in Karnataka and said the result will be repeated in Rajasthan.
The Congress general secretary targeted the prime minister, saying 'he is jhooth ke jagatguru' and accused Modi of levelling false allegations and propaganda against rivals.
"The prime minister has a typical strategy of lies (jhooth)... The BJP has only three weapons - ED-CBI, polarisation and 'jhooth', whereas the Congress has developmental works, waiving of farmers' loan, welfare schemes and seven guarantees by the state Congress to counter these three weapons," Ramesh said.
Campaigning on Tuesday in Madhya Pradesh, Prime Minister Modi had mocked former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, calling him 'leader of fools' over his remarks on China-made mobile phones.
“A mahagyani (very wise man) of the Congress said yesterday that Indians only have made in China mobile. In which world the 'moorkhon ke sardar' lives?” Modi said.
“I wonder what foreign glasses they are wearing that they are unable to see the country's achievements,” he said, without directly naming Gandhi.
Ramesh on Thursday said that the prime minister always talked of the 'Gujarat Model' of development but in the last five years, a new model of development has emerged in Rajasthan.
The Congress leader said the prime minister claimed he would not allow any attack on the federal structure of the country 'but the fact is that states are not receiving any support from the Centre'.
He alleged discriminatory attitude by the Centre against Rajasthan over the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) and the construction of an airport in Kota.
Ramesh alleged that even the Army has been 'politicised under Modi's rule'.
He claimed that the Modi government has changed the names of the 15-20 schemes launched by the previous Congress-led government to usurp credit for them.