Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lashed out at the opposition for its efforts to cobble up an anti-BJP front ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election, calling it a ‘failed experiment’.
“These days, a campaign is going on to publicise a failed experiment in the history of Indian politics by the name of mahagathbandhan,” he said on Saturday addressing BJP workers at the party’s national council meet in New Delhi.
He said the opposition was trying to make a ‘majboor sarkaar’ (helpless government) instead of a ‘majboot sarkar’ (strong government) as they wanted to indulge in scams and corruption.
Watch: Oppn wants a ‘majboor’ govt: PM Modi on SP-BSP alliance
The PM’s comments came on a day the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party formed an alliance for the 2019 polls. Both the parties will contest 38 seats each in UttarPradesh, leaving two seats for the Congress and two for other allies.
Modi questioned the viability of opposition’s alliances and pointed out that that its first outing in Telangana, where the Congress had teamed up with Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP, was a disaster as it lost to the TRS. He said in Karnataka, where the Congress is in alliance with the JD-S, the chief minister is on record saying that he is being ‘treated like a clerk’.
{{/usCountry}}Modi questioned the viability of opposition’s alliances and pointed out that that its first outing in Telangana, where the Congress had teamed up with Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP, was a disaster as it lost to the TRS. He said in Karnataka, where the Congress is in alliance with the JD-S, the chief minister is on record saying that he is being ‘treated like a clerk’.
{{/usCountry}}“Problems have started even in newly formed governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh,” Modi added.
Hitting out at the main opposition Congress, Modi said they are a stumbling block in the country’s development. “They are stalling key bills in Parliament, they do not want the country to progress.”
Modi said the earlier Congress government had pushed the country into darkness. “It won’t be wrong if I say that India lost 10 important years (during UPA rule from 2004 to 2014) in scams and corruption.”
Amid continuous attack from Congress chief Rahul Gandhi alleging corruption in the Rafale aircraft deal, Modi said the opposition is desperate but he won’t be bogged down by such wild charges.
Taking on the Congress state governments which have farm loan waivers, Modi said these are just short-term measures. “For the opposition, farmers are mere vote bank. It is only the BJP government which is committed to solving the agrarian crisis.”