Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his campaign speeches against the Congress party’s ‘Nyay Patra’ for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. In a letter posted on Twitter by Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on April 25, Mr. Kharge tells the PM that the Congress Nyay Patra aims to ‘provide Nyay to the youth, women, farmers, labourers and marginalised people’. Saying that he is willing to meet Mr. Modi to ‘explain’ the Nyay Patra to him, Mr. Kharge wrote that the Prime Minister is being misinformed by his advisors.
Mr. Modi in a rally in Ajmer on April 6 slammed the Congress manifesto, calling it a bundle of lies where every page reeked of “breaking India into pieces”. He alleged that the Congress wants to impose the ideas of the Muslim League on India. “The same thinking is reflected in the Congress manifesto as was in the Muslim League at the time of independence,” he alleged.
Doubling down on his attacks against the Congress’ promises on social justice and alleged wealth redistribution, Mr. Modi claimed in a rally in Chhattisgarh that the “dangerous intentions” of the Congress were coming to the fore one by one. Mr. Modi reiterated his assertion that the Congress’ plan for social welfare and reducing inequality amounted to a “dangerous game” of wealth redistribution and “snatching people’s rights and properties”.
Mr. Modi in a rally in Aligarh, also asserted that the Congress will appropriate gold and ‘mangalsutras’ of women and private homes of people if they come to power. “The Congress “shahzada” (prince) says if his government comes, they will investigate who earns how much and how much property they have. Not only this, he says the government will take over the property and redistribute it. This is what their election manifesto is saying,” Modi claimed, referring to Rahul Gandhi.
In the letter, Mr. Kharge said that ‘it was expected BJP leaders would start speaking in this manner after the dismal performance in the first phase of the elections’. Reiterating that since the BJP is a ‘suit-boot ki sarkar’ (a government for the rich), whenever the Congress talks about rich and poor, Mr. Modi resorts to equating it with Hindu and Muslim. Mr. Kharge asserted that the Congress has always served to empower the poor while the BJP has ruled to snatch the earnings and wealth of the poor. He also accused the PM of seizing on a few words taken out of context and creating a communal divide in the country.
Referring to the Prime Minister’s ‘mangalsutra’ remark, Mr. Kharge in the open letter said that the BJP has ‘repeatedly turned away from the atrocities that the poor and backward women are facing’. “Isn’t your government responsible for the atrocities against women in Manipur, atrocities against Dalit girls, garlanding of rapists? When farmers are committing suicides under your government, how are you protecting their wives and children,” Mr. Kharge questioned.
