"This Time Too, Congress' Fight Is Only To Cross 40": Union Minister

Claiming that the "corrupt coalition" of the opposition's INDIA bloc will be wiped out in the Lok Sabha polls, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said on Sunday that Congress's fight is only to "cross 40 seats."

"INDI alliance partners and these princes (Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav) want this (BJP to be reduced to 150 seats) but their intentions will never be fulfilled. They had come together before as well but the public had wiped them out. This time again, this coalition of corrupt people will be wiped out in Lok Sabha polls. I want to tell Rahul Gandhi that neither in 2014 nor in 2019, the public made you win. This time too, Congress' fight is only to cross 40, the public will bless BJP with absolute majority and to cross 400," Anurag Thakur told reporters.

On Congress leader Sachin Pilot's 'South se Saaf, North se Half' remark, Mr Thakur said that it is Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who was rejected by the North after his defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and went to Kerala's Wayanad.

"Everyone saw how Congress was wiped out from Rajasthan in the Assembly elections. It is because Congress had forgotten the promises made to the people after coming to power. Congress can stoop to any level to win the elections. When Rahul Gandhi was rejected by the North, he went to South India and got the support of organizations like SDPI and PFI, which ran an agenda against the country. Rahul Gandhi takes their support to contest elections and also includes people of 'Tukde Tukde' gang in his party and now thinks of disintegrating India," he said.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur also alleged that Congress is thinking in the direction of abolishing nuclear weapons in the country, which will lead to the weakening of the nation.

"Congress is known for scams like Jeep scam, Bofors scam, AgustaWestland scam, Submarine scam and since now it is no longer in power, it is thinking like abolishing nuclear weapons to weaken the country. Where the country should be strong, the Congress thinks of weakening the country. On one hand, you (Congress) join hands with the 'Tukde Tukde' gang, on the other hand, you give statements to break India into pieces," Anurag Thakur told reporters in Hamirpur.

Anurag Thakur slammed the Congress over the law and order situation in Karnataka saying that they have become "silent spectators".

"In your state, where Congress is in power, slogans of 'Pakistan Zindabad' are raised in the Assembly complex, but Congress remains silent, bomb blasts happen in Karnataka but Congress remains a silent spectator and not only this when a daughter was killed in broad daylight, they remain silent on that too," he said.

Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday accused the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Congress of conspiring to weaken India while questioning the intention behind the CPI (M)'s election manifesto promise to dismantle all nuclear weapons in the country.

Mr Singh also demanded to know the Congress' stand on the issue and said that "talking about destroying our nuclear weapons is no less than playing with national security."

"I want to ask Congress in particular what they have to say about this comment by CPIM. I want to ask them to clarify. CPIM says if they come to power, they will destroy all nuclear weapons. India's first nuclear tests were conducted in 1974 by Indira Gandhi. The need arose because China had continuously been doing nuclear tests. And even Pakistan had begun its nuclear trials," the defence minister said while addressing a public rally in Kerala's Kasargod.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist), which is part of the INDIA bloc, in its manifesto, which was released last week, has promised "complete elimination of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological weapons."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)