NEW DELHI: On Tuesday, the Congress accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of engaging in polarisation and preparing a “communal pitch” throughout the election, asserting that the party refused to play along and instead focused on its ‘paach nyay’ agenda. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh’s criticism came in response to Modi’s remarks in an interview with PTI, where he claimed he had never spoken against minorities and that the BJP had never acted against them.
Ramesh countered, stating that Modi’s entire campaign since April 19 had been driven by “communalisation” with a strong Hindu-Muslim rhetoric, neglecting discussions on issues like “Viksit Bharat,” “Modi ki guarantee,” or the concerns of farmers, youth, women, workers, and marginalized communities.
“What nonsense is he talking about? This prime minister is fast losing his memory. He has never had any adherence to truth. He is ‘jhoothjeevi,’ but now what he says today, he forgets tomorrow and says he never said it,” Ramesh told PTI. He emphasized that Modi had been attacking the Congress party and consistently invoking Hindu-Muslim issues.
Ramesh also highlighted specific instances, such as Modi raising the issue of the ‘Muslim League’ imprint on the Congress manifesto and making remarks about the mangalsutra, as well as alleging that the Congress would grant reservations based on religion. These, Ramesh said, were all “bogus statements.”
“This is the prime minister who, when asked some years ago whether he had any remorse at the killings during the Gujarat riots, said even when a small puppy comes under a car, one feels bad. This is the language that he has used,” Ramesh added, criticizing Modi’s past comments.
Ramesh alleged that Modi’s entire campaign had been based on “communalisation and polarisation,” focusing on Hindu-Muslim rhetoric rather than development issues. He asserted that Modi had been preparing a “communal pitch” and expected the Congress to engage on that level, but the party refused.
“Our agenda is the ‘paanch nyay’ – yuva nyay, kisaan nyay, shramik nyay, naari nyay, and hissedari nyay, along with the 25 guarantees we have given,” Ramesh stated.
Ramesh also responded to Modi’s remarks about the Constitution, pointing out that on November 26, 1949, the Constitution was adopted thanks to the Congress’s efforts, despite opposition from the RSS, which criticized the Constitution for lacking ‘manuvadi values.’ He mentioned that various BJP leaders, including M S Golwalkar and Deen Dayal Upadhyay, had attacked the Constitution over the years.
He recalled that when Atal Bihari Vajpayee became prime minister, there was an attempt to review the basic structure of the Constitution, which was ultimately redefined to review its working due to opposition from justice J.S. Verma.
Ramesh accused the BJP and RSS of being hostile to B.R. Ambedkar’s Constitution because of its emphasis on social justice, which includes reservations.
He challenged Modi to state his position on the caste census and whether he would lift the 50 percent cap on reservations for SCs, STs, and OBCs. Ramesh criticized Modi for spreading false information about religion-based reservations, asserting that the reservations given by the Congress in Karnataka were based on socio-economic criteria and included minorities like Muslims, Christians, Jains, and Buddhists.
Ramesh also questioned why Modi had not taken action against businessmen Adani and Ambani, in response to Modi’s comments about Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s statements validating his criticism of the businessmen.
