NEW DELHI: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s recent advice to party state units to make promises that are “financially viable” drew a sharp reaction from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said Congress leaders were learning a difficult lesson while making unrealistic promises.
The PM said on Friday that making unrealistic promises was easy, but fulfilling them was challenging. He sought to caution the citizens to remain alert against “Congress’ culture of fake promises”.
The PM’s response came in a series of posts following Kharge’s statement urging his party’s state units to be cautious about making promises. “The Congress is realising the hard way that making unreal promises is easy but implementing them is tough or impossible,” said the PM.
He said the Congress repeatedly made promises they knew they wouldn’t deliver. “Now they stand badly exposed,” he said, using the hashtag #FakePromsiesOfCongress to underscore his message.
The PM further advised the people to be cautious of Congress’ empty promises. “The people of the country will have to be vigilant … We recently saw how the people of Haryana rejected their lies and preferred a government that is stable, progress-oriented and action-driven,” he said.
“There is a growing realisation that a vote for Congress is a vote for non-governance, poor economics and unparalleled loot,” said the PM.
Using Karnataka as an example, he criticised the Congress for focusing on intra-party politics and corruption instead of delivering on development. “In Karnataka, instead of bothering to deliver on development, the Congress is going to roll back the existing schemes,” Modi said. He also highlighted the Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh, saying, “Salaries of Himachal Pradesh government workers are not paid on time. In Telangana, farmers are waiting for the waiver they were promised.”
Pointing out the failures of the previous Congress governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Modi noted that they promised certain allowances that were never implemented. “There are numerous such examples of how the Congress works,” Modi said.
BJP leader and former law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also highlighted the financial difficulties faced by Congress-led states like Karnataka, Telangana, and Himachal Pradesh in delivering on their promises. He recalled that Congress ministers in Himachal were told to forgo their salaries and introduce the controversial “toilet tax”, which was later withdrawn. In Karnataka, he mentioned a review of the promise for free bus rides for women.
Prasad criticised Congress’ history of misleading voters with unrealistic promises, referencing Indira Gandhi’s ‘garibi hatao’ slogan in the 1971 elections.
Fiscal prudence
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad asserted the BJP made promises grounded in fiscal prudence, citing the government’s successful implementa-tion of a scheme providing Rs 6,000 annually to 11 crore farmers and others.