Congress only gave slogans in name of poor: BJP president Nadda lauds Modi govt's efforts to alleviate poverty

Mumbai, Feb 22 (PTI) BJP president J P Nadda on Thursday said only his party was working in a 'clean' manner to ensure progress of the poor.

All other parties indulge in corruption and their leaders are either in jail or out on bail, he said, speaking at a party event here.

The Congress only gave slogans of poverty alleviation but the Narendra Modi government brought 25 crore people out of poverty, Nadda said.

"Only the BJP is ensuring advancement of the poor and the country in a clean way. All other parties do corruption," he said.

"Be it Sonia (Gandhi), Rahul (Gandhi) or Lalu Prasad, they all are out on bail. Soren (apparently referring to former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren) is in jail," Nadda further said.

While 50 per cent of the country's population was living in poverty during former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's years in office, the proportion increased to 60 per cent after Indira Gandhi came to power, the BJP chief claimed.

"The Congress only gave slogans in the name of the poor, devised schemes and plans in the drawing room but they were never implemented," he said.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's first prime minister, mentioned poverty in nine of the 14 speeches he delivered from Red Fort, while Indira Gandhi spoke of the issue in four of her speeches, Nadda said.

"Inflation during her time (as PM) was 30 per cent. There were 15 crore bank accounts during the tenure of Indira Gandhi. But under Narendra Modi, the number of bank accounts reached 55 crore due to the Jan Dhan Yojana," Nadda said.

Due to such measures of the Modi government, 25 crore persons have come out of poverty, he added.

Earlier, Nadda inaugurated Shivaji Maharaj statue in Girgaon in south Mumbai.

During his interaction with BJP functionaries on Wednesday, Nadda said PM Modi deserved a third term due to his relentless work for the development of the nation.

The constituents of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc were nothing but a bunch of corrupt people who had come together to save their kin, he claimed.

Mocking Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', Nadda said wherever the Congress leader goes, 'it turns out to be Bharat todo and anyay yatra'.