‘Mentioned Congress 44 times in 51-minute speech’: Pawan Khera on PM Modi speech
Pawan Khera said PM Modi repeatedly taking Congress’s name in his speech reflected that the BJP did not have any achievements to talk about
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday responded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s criticism of the party in his election speeches in Madhya Pradesh, saying he spent too much time attacking the Congress in the state though the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been in power in the state for the last two decades except for 15 months when Kamal Nath was chief minister.
“PM Modi mentioned the Congress 44 times in his 51-minute speech in Madhya Pradesh… In a state where the BJP has been in power for 18 years, you are taking the name of Congress 44 times. This indicates that the achievements of the government in Madhya Pradesh are ‘zero’,” Khera said at a briefing on Tuesday.
In speeches on Monday at events in the capital cities of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan ahead of assembly polls later this year, PM Modi accused the Congress of dragging its feet on women’s reservation, keeping the people of India poor and forcing them to live in misery for decades.
In Bhopal, PM Modi said the Congress administrations were remembered for “misrule” that made the state BIMARU – a reference to an umbrella moniker used for the underdeveloped states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. “The BJP government has completed almost 20 years in MP. The youth who will vote for the first time have seen only the BJP government. They are fortunate that they have not seen the bad governance and evils of Congress in MP,” the PM said.
Khera said PM Modi was misleading voters about the Congress, adding that he mentioned the party so many times that the BJP leader appeared to the Congress’s star campaigner.
Khera said in Rajasthan too, PM Modi criticised the Ashok Gehlot-led government. “He might have forgotten how he awarded the state for effective administration during the pandemic times... Gehlot in power, developed 2,500 colleges, brought Swasth and Chiranjeevi Yojana, and ₹25 lakh health insurance in the healthcare system. The fiscal deficit, which was once 9.2%, is now at 3%. Yet, he is accused of corruption?” said Khera/
Khera also sought to counter PM Modi’s accusation that the Congress and the Opposition were against the empowerment of women and recalled instances where leaders of the BJP opposed the reservation.
