Cong should apologise to nation: Marandi
Terming the Congress manifesto as ‘Anyaya’ patra (document of injustice), Jharkhand Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Babulal Marandi on Monday demanded the grand-old-party to apologise before the country for having failed to deliver despite having ruled the nation for 55 years.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, Marandi said the Congress should first apologise “for their sins” and then talk about “nyay (justice) and mohabbat ki dukan”.
The Congress has named its manifesto ‘Nyay Patra’ and promised five Nyay and 25 guarantees.
“Congress’ guarantee is a guarantee of corruption; a guarantee of appeasement; a guarantee of eradication of Sanatana Dharma and undermining the constitutional institutions of the country,” said Marandi.
“People of the country and Jharkhand know well about it. Indira Gandhi gave the call of Garibi hatao. What happened?
These were mere slogans. On the other side, we have Modi’s guarantee based on performance and delivery in the past 10 years,” he added.
Marandi listed a host of comparative ‘failures’ of the Congress governments and ‘achievements’ of the Modi government including in sectors of road, power, gas connection, banking coverage, and DBT model besides check on terrorism.
He highlighted the lack of basic amenities like roads and electricity in villages, emphasising that the poor and rural communities were deprived of LPG cylinders and bank accounts.”Rural residents had to undertake arduous journeys for basic necessities. Even medical professionals couldn’t reach villages due to the absence of roads. Lack of electricity also posed significant challenges. Despite being in power for many years, the Congress did little to address these issues,” the BJP president said.
Marandi claimed that when the BJP government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, significant strides were made in infrastructure development.
“Today, there’s a network of roads connecting every village, and electricity reaches every household. LPG cylinders are now available in every home, and villagers have access to bank accounts,” he said.
He highlighted India’s rapid progress across various sectors such as automotive, pharmaceuticals, and defence.
Jharkhand Congress chief Rajesh Thakur said the BJP leaders are making baseless allegations as they are staring at defeat.
“The Congress manifesto takes care of all sections of society including youth, women, and farmers. Even PM Modi is trying to deflect attention by making baseless remarks and has related the manifesto with the Muslim League. The fact remains when Congress was running the Quit India movement, their leader Syama Prasad Mukherjee was running the government in Bengal and NW province in alliance with the Muslim League,” said Thakur.
The Congress leader said his party has always fulfilled whatever it has guaranteed in the past.
“The Congress manifesto was not drafted sitting in air-conditioned room. Our leader Rahul Gandhi walked thousands of kilometres, listened to people and incorporated their problems in the manifesto,” he said.
Addressing a press conference, Thakur cautioned that in view of upcoming festivals like Sarhul, Eid and Ramnavami, BJP might do something to polarise people for its vote bank politics.
“I would like to request to people not to fall prey to rumours and ensure that the festivals are concluded peacefully,” he said.