Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched a strong offensive against the Congress over its failure to fulfil promises after winning elections. He gave the examples of Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana where he said developmental and fiscal indicators have gone from "bad to worse".
"The Congress party is realising the hard way that making unreal promises is easy but implementing them properly is tough or impossible. Campaign after campaign they promise things to the people, which they also know they will never be able to deliver. Now, they stand badly exposed in front of the people," PM Modi said in a post on X.
"Check any state where the Congress has governments today - Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana - the developmental trajectory and fiscal health is turning from bad to worse. Their so-called guarantees lie unfulfilled, which is a terrible deceit upon the people of these states. The victims of such politics are the poor, youngsters, farmers and women, who are not only denied the benefits of these promises but also see their existing schemes diluted," the Prime Minister said.
The Congress had promised many free schemes in Karnataka ahead of the assembly elections. However, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar's comment on reviewing the Shakti free-travel scheme for women ran into a major controversy.
The Congress's central leadership had to pull up Mr Shivakumar for even suggesting they'd review the scheme, while Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had promised similar schemes in neighbouring Maharashtra where election is due later this month.
"In Karnataka, Congress is busier in intra-party politics and loot instead of even bothering to deliver on development. Not only that, they are also going to rollback existing schemes. In Himachal Pradesh, salaries of government workers are not paid on time. In Telangana, farmers are waiting for the waiver they promised. Previously, in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan they promised certain allowances which were never implemented for five years. There are numerous such examples of how the Congress works," PM Modi said in the post.
Earlier, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge gave advice to the party's units headed for polls, cautioning them to announce guarantees on the basis of their budget. Mr Kharge urged for careful consideration and warned that an unplanned approach could lead to financial difficulties and negatively impact future generations.
During the press conference, he underscored the importance of fiscal responsibility, stating that if the government fails to deliver on its commitments, it could result in a bad reputation and hardships for the community.
"In Maharashtra, I've said that they shouldn't announce 5, 6, 10 or 20 guarantees. They should announce guarantees based on budget. Otherwise, there'll be bankruptcy. If there's no money for roads, everyone will turn against you. If this government fails, the future generation will be left with nothing but a bad name. They'll have to live in exile for 10 years," Mr Kharge had said.
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