Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday fired back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asserting that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the real parasite, citing its history of consuming regional parties.
Replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address in the Lok Sabha, PM Modi had accused the Congress of becoming a "parasite" party, claiming it has thrived at the expense of its allies' votes.
"In 13 states, they have zero seats, yet they consider themselves heroes," Modi said on Tuesday. "Congress has been a 'par-jeevi' party since 2024, which means the one that lives off its host and ends up consuming it."
"Where Congress and BJP had a direct contest, Congress's strike rate is only 26 per cent. But where they were in an alliance, their strike rate was 50 per cent. Most of Congress's 99 seats were won by the efforts of their allies," he pointed out.
"In Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, where Congress fought on its own, out of 64 seats, they could win only 2. This means that Congress has become entirely 'Par-jeevi'. If Congress hadn't consumed the votes of its allies, it wouldn't have won even these many seats," Modi added.
{{/usCountry}}"In Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, where Congress fought on its own, out of 64 seats, they could win only 2. This means that Congress has become entirely 'Par-jeevi'. If Congress hadn't consumed the votes of its allies, it wouldn't have won even these many seats," Modi added.
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Jairam Ramesh dismissed Prime Minister Modi's allegations and turned the tables on the BJP.
"Only a parasite can use that word. Look at the track record of how the regional parties have been eaten up by the BJP. Today, the BJD has stood with the INDIA group in the Rajya Sabha. So if anybody is a parasite, it is the BJP," Ramesh asserted.
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On Tuesday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge slammed Modi for calling the grand old party "parasite" and claimed that the prime minister had used the term for farmers as well in 2021.
“You insulted the year-long struggle of the farmers for their rights. In front of that, your dictatorial government had to bow down and withdraw the three anti-farmer black laws," Kharge posted on X in Hindi.
"Today you have used the same word for the Congress party. This is not an abuse for the Congress party. It is a matter of pride for us to sacrifice our lives for nation-building along with the farmers," he said.