Modi’s farewell done and decided; INDIA bloc set to form government: Congress

LUCKNOW: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge today predicted a comfortable victory for the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), saying its government was set to be formed at the Centre.

Modi’s farewell is done and decided, he remarked.

Addressing a press conference along with the Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, and party in charge for Uttar Pradesh, Avinash Pande, here, Kharge said he had never seen so much unity among the opposition parties. He said, there was a lot of anger and resentment among the people and this was being reflected in the voting patterns.

He said the results would be interesting as people realized that these elections were very important to save the Constitution, people’s rights, and reservations.

He said the BJP was so nervous that it was not even letting people file nomination papers even at the places where they are supposed to be strong. He said the BJP was threatening and intimidating the election agents of the opposition parties. He pointed out how a BJP candidate in Hyderabad was lifting the veils from women’s faces to check their identity.

He asserted, despite all this, that the opposition alliance was giving the befitting fight to the BJP and was certain to win.

The Congress president said it was a fight between two ideologies. He said, on the one hand, there was an alliance of pro-poor people who were protecting the rights of the downtrodden like the Dalits, the backward, and the Adivasis, and on the other hand there was the BJP which was only protecting and promoting the rich.

He pointed out, that while the BJP fights in the name of religion, the INDIA bloc was fighting for people to get enough meals, have jobs, and control over rising prices. He observed that there was a growing gap between the rich and the poor and it needed to be bridged.

Lashing out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accusing him of speaking lies and abusing the Congress and its leaders, he asked, why was he not asking for votes in the name of development, if he had done so much work. He pointed out how he was talking about things, which are unbecoming of a Prime Minister.

' If people still think he is intelligent and statesman-like, then it is a misfortune for the country. Modi never talks about economic, social, or educational issues but things like mutton, chicken, beef, and mangalsutra," HE SAID.

Kharge also questioned the claims of the Prime Minister of providing free food to 80 crore poor Indians. He said, Modi was providing 5 kg rice and it was because of the Food Security Act brought in by the UPA government. He announced that once the INDIA bloc forms the government, it will provide 10 kgs of foodgrains instead of five kgs to the poor every month.