Launching a volley against the Congress with less than two weeks to go for the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the party's manifesto is a bundle of lies and every page of the document reeks of attempts to tear India apart.
Addressing a rally in Rajasthan's Ajmer on Saturday - with the Congress also holding an event in nearby Jaipur to "publicly launch" its manifesto - the PM said that the party's thoughts in the manifesto resemble those of the Muslim League during the pre-Independence period.
"The Congress issued a bundle of lies in the form of its manifesto which has unmasked the party. Every page reeks of attempts to tear India apart. It reflects the thoughts that the Muslim League had before Independence. The Congress wants to impose the Muslim League's thoughts from that era on the India of today. And what is remaining of the manifesto is dominated by communist and leftist thoughts," PM Modi said in Hindi.
The Congress has hit back at the PM and said he "does not know his history".
Claiming that the Congress of today is bereft of principles and policies, the Prime Minister said it was apparent that the party has outsourced everything. He then went on to ask whether such a party could do anything that would be in the country's interest, eliciting a loud "no" from the people in the audience.
"If you look at the manifesto, it is clear that they want to push India back into the past century... The Congress has never bothered about nari shakti (women power). Generations of women have suffered after Independence. Shouldn't a Congress like this be punished? Use your vote on April 19 and punish the Congress," the PM said.
Highlighting the schemes for the construction of toilets and providing LPG cylinders, tap water and nutrition for pregnant women, the PM said his government cares not just for women but even the babies that are about to be born.
"My brave daughters could not join the Army, Modi opened those doors. I opened the doors of the Sainik schools. We ensured six months of maternity leave for women and also passed a law for reservation for our mothers and daughters in legislatures... I am proud that women in our villages, who could not ride cycles, are now flying drones and ISRO projects are also being handled by women," PM Modi said.
"You may think a lot has been done, but let me tell you my mann ki baat. All this was just a trailer, we will take our country forward much further. Your dreams are my commitment. We have to make India a developed nation by 2047," he added.
'Does Not Know His History'
Hitting back at the PM for his remarks, the Congress said the PM does not know his history and pointed out that Jana Sangh founder and BJP ideologue Syama Prasad Mookerjee himself was part of a coalition government in Bengal with the Muslim League in the early 1940s.
"The Prime Minister does not know his history. It was, in fact, none other than Mookerjee, the president of the Hindu Mahasabha then, who was himself part of the coalition government in Bengal with the Muslim League... It is the BJP, not the Congress, that believes in and practices the politics of divisiveness," Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The Congress manifesto, released in Delhi on Friday, focuses on job creation and infrastructure development and also has the party's promise of a caste census, which has been a major focal point since the Bihar government released the results of a caste survey last year. The manifesto also promises a minimum support price, which has been a key demand of farmers, as well as universal free healthcare.
Rajasthan will vote in two phases - on April 19 and April 26 - and counting will take place on June 4. The BJP had won 24 of the state's 25 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, with the remaining constituency going to ally Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, and all 25 in 2014.
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