Opp set to oust Modi govt: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of harassing Opposition leaders by implicating them in false cases and said all such cases would be withdrawn once the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc is voted to power.

Kharge was addressing reporters in Patna before proceeding to Samastipur and Muzaffarpur to campaign for Congress nominees in the fray.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad could not attend the press conference owing to his poor health, though his party’s national spokesman Manoj Kumar Jha, CPI(ML) general secretary Deepankar Bhattarcharya and CPI’s Ram Babu addressed the reporters.

Kharge expressed confidence that Opposition parties will be able to unseat the BJP-led alliance from power at the Centre. “I have visited the entire country, barring Jammu and Kashmir, and noticed that there is perceptible anger among the people owing to the government’s failure to address unemployment and inflation. Leaders of the INDIA bloc are sure that Modi will not become the Prime Minister again,” he said.

Kharge alleged Modi had recourse to the Hindu-Muslim issue as he had nothing to cite as positive development in his entire 10-year rule. “Modi government wants to run the country by daily wages and contractual workers. “More than 30 lakh posts, which are sanctioned in the Union budget, are lying vacant, while RSS trained people are appointed on key positions like joint secretaries in the government,” he said.

Later, addressing an election rally in Samastipur, Kharge said Modi could become the prime minister of India only because Congress fought for its Independence.

“PM Modi says we are silent on Ambani and Adani, we are not... I am asking why did his government not take any action if, according to his allegation, we received black money from these industrialists? Is it because they themselves received black money?” Kharge alleged.

Recalling the contributions of Congress for the country, he said former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed their lives for the unity of the country and Indians got the right to exercise franchise due to struggles of Mahatma Gandhi and Rajendra Prasad, among others.