BHUBANESWAR: Congress on Thursday criticised the BJP-led Government at the Centre over its dismal performance, saying it bore testimony to the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has only ‘television’ instead of vision.
The Congress hit out at the BJP for criticising its manifesto and stated that it has no right to preach national security as the country witnessed 260 per cent rise in terror-related incidents during the last five years.
“The rich became richer and the poor turned poorer under the BJP rule, but the Congress election manifesto talks about giving justice to the farmers, women, youth, the jobless and distressed sections,” Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi told media persons here.
Accusing the BJP of not fulfilling promises made in its manifesto in 2014, she said the saffron party had assured to provide 33 per cent quota for women, double farmers’ income and create two crore jobs annually, but failed miserably to fulfil any of these.
Launching a scathing attack on the BJP for making tall claims about nationalism, Priyanka said never before in the history of India did any Prime Minister visit Pakistan ‘uninvited’. However, “Modi went there uninvited, had biriyani, and got the Pathankot (terror strike) in return,” she said, adding, even Pakistan’s ISI was allowed to investigate into the incident.
Hitting out at the Centre for the Phulwama attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed, she said it was the ‘biggest intelligence failure’. “Let them (the BJP) not try to teach us on nationalism. It was Indira
Gandhi who demonstrated with courage how to strike right inside the enemy’s house,” she said.
Describing the BJP as a symbol of ‘hypocrisy’, Chaturvedi said the saffron leaders’ attack on Congress over the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was meaningless, and made it clear that her party only seeks to review and hold dialogues before taking any step on the AFSPA, and not dilute it. Criticising the GST and demonetisation for their ‘disastrous’ impact, she said the Congress will simplify the new indirect tax, if voted to power.
Party manifesto was also released by Chaturvedi and OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik and other senior leaders. Patnaik said, “Congress will deliver. We have delivered before and will do it again.”