In his speeches in Lok Sabha Monday and Rajya Sabha Wednesday, Modi singled out the Congress, dipping into history and framing the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as a battle between the BJP and the Congress, their governance models and records.
Hitting back, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the PM's speeches – whether at an election rally or in Parliament – are just a “heap of lies”. “He has become engrossed in his lies, the applause he gets and his media, that every question related to the public makes him angry. Anger is a guarantee of destruction, not development,” he said in a post on 'X'.
Kharge too was scathing as he picked holes in Modi's claims. “Modiji, in your speeches in both the Houses, you only cursed the Congress. Despite being in power for 10 years, instead of talking about himself, he only criticises the Congress. Even today, he did not talk about price rise, unemployment and economic inequality,” he said outside the House.
“Actually, the government does not have any data. NDA itself means 'No Data Available' Government -- Census 2021 has not been conducted, there is no employment data, there is no health survey. The government hides all the statistics and spreads lies. 'Modi Ki Guarantee' is only to spread lies,” Kharge said.
Rebutting Modi's charge that the Congress took inspiration from the British, Kharge said: “Those who did not believe in the Constitution, did not participate in the Dandi March and Quit India Movement, have the audacity to today preach patriotism to the Congress party.”
Saying that Modi had said “countless false things about the UPA government”, Kharge raised several questions. “The unemployment rate during UPA was 2.2%, why is it at a 45-year high in your tenure? During the 10 years of UPA, the average GDP growth rate was 8.13%, why is it only 5.6% during your tenure? According to the World Bank, in 2011 itself, India had become the third largest economy in the world. We brought 14 crore people out of (not-just-multidimensional) poverty in 10 years. By nitpicking speeches from here and there, you are only spreading lies,” Kharge said.
In a point-by-point rebuttal, he said the foundation for the progress that India has made in digital transformation was laid by the UPA, under the Aadhaar-DBT-bank account framework.
“You talked about Eklavya schools, but did not say that 70% of the teachers in them are on contract basis. It is unfortunate that the gap between our exports and imports has increased by three times in the last 10 years and, despite knowing this fact, the government does not accept it as a problem and hasn’t taken any corrective measures,” he said.
“An entire electorate reeling under the double whammy of unemployment and price rise was looking for a clear solution from the PM, but he had nothing to offer. After these speeches, it is becoming increasingly clear that another term for Modi and BJP will mean 5 more years of hopelessness and despair for the poor and middle classes. The arrogance and hatred in the PM’s speeches show that in reality, he is scared of the Congress defeating them and the people teaching them a befitting lesson in the Lok Sabha elections,” he said.
The Congress slammed the government in Parliament too. Speaking on the debate on the interim budget in Lok Sabha, senior leader Shashi Tharoor tore into the government's handling of the economy.
He said the people gave a mandate to the BJP “with the hope that the government would come through on its bloated rhetoric of sabka saath, sabka vikas, the illusory promise of inclusive development for all Indians.”
“Now, fast-forward ten years later, we find the people of this country have been sadly betrayed by the government whose economic mismanagement in the past decade has left the people of India staring at widespread distress, hardship, low-incomes and high unemployment,” Tharoor said.
He said while the government says that GDP stands for “governance, development and performance”, “the fact is that it is not equitably enhancing the capabilities of the ordinary people of? this? country. Instead,? G stands ?for? government? intrusion? and ?tax? terrorism,? D stands? ?for? demographic? betrayal,? and? P stands? for? poverty? continuing.?”
“This actual 'GDP' also jettisons the trinity of 'demography, democracy and diversity' that the government claims to be serving... Democracy is suffering through this government's arrogant contempt for institutions… And when it comes to diversity, we know the record has not been great either, with increasing attacks on religious minorities, the ruthless dispensing of 'bulldozer justice', mob lynching, communal violence and worse. Combined with the disregard for states and their operations through a skewed and centralising cooperative federalism, under which the states are meant to co-operate but the Centre operates as it pleases,” Tharoor said.
“The government has failed gravely on all the counts where it pats its own back. Therefore, it is imperative that this House must realise the game of smoke and mirrors that this government is playing with the interim budget with nearly no redressal of the real crises plaguing our economy and affecting the aam aadmi. It is high time that this election gives others an opportunity to show up their shallow rhetoric for what it is, which is all talk and no action,” he said.
