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‘Pathological liar’: Congress retorts to PM Modi's defence amid row over ‘infiltrator’ remarks
The Congress leader also lamented the "inaction" of the Election Commission after the Congress brought the issue to their attention.
Amid a row over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "infiltrators" and "those with more children" remarks, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday accused the prime minister of using "communal" language since the start of the Lok Sabha elections on April 19.
He also lamented the "inaction" of the Election Commission after the Congress brought the issue to their attention. Follow full coverage of the Lok Sabha elections.
Ramesh also criticised the prime minister's defense in which he denied that he was stoking divisions between Hindus and Muslims to win the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
“The nation knows very well that the outgoing PM is a pathological liar. But even by his own pathetic standards, Mr. Modi's latest claim that he does not do Hindu-Muslim politics shows the new depths he reaches daily in lying,” Ramesh wrote on X. “Since April 19th 2024, it is a matter of public record that cannot be erased from our collective memory - even if Mr. Modi erases it from his own - that the outgoing PM has blatantly and brazenly used communal language, symbols, and allusions.”
He added: “We have brought this to the attention of the Election Commission of India as well. Action should have been taken, but sadly it has not.”
Ramesh further alleged that Modi has no agenda except "Hindu-Muslim politics" in his campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“His party's manifesto, an incoherent jumble of words amidst an array of his own photos, has found zero traction. Modi ki Guarantee, promoted at tremendous cost to the public exchequer for the last few months, has fallen flat. 400 Paar has been given a silent burial,” Ramesh wrote on X.
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“His last, desperate attempt at having a campaign has been to lie and spread untruths about the Congress Party's and the INDIA janbandhan's agenda for equitable growth for each and every Indian citizen. The certainty of his exit has now forced him to feign memory loss," the Congress leader added.
What PM Modi said
During an election rally in Rajasthan, PM Narendra Modi claimed that if voted to power, the Congress would distribute the country's wealth to those who have more children.
"Congress earlier said Muslims had the first right in the country's wealth. In their manifesto, the Congress said they will distribute the country's property...to whom? Earlier, when their (Congress) government was in power, they had said that Muslims have the first right to the country's assets. This means they will distribute the wealth among those who have more children, among infiltrators. Should your hard-earned money go to the infiltrators? Do you approve of this?" Modi had asked.
The Congress had condemned the statement, saying that the prime minister, through his 'lies', was again creating division between Hindus and Muslims.
BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia, however, had defended Modi's remarks, saying that the PM echoed people's sentiments by calling a spade a spade. Bhatia said the opposition is in pain as Modi has shown them the mirror of its past.
On Tuesday, PM Modi, however, defended the allegations against him saying “the day I do Hindu-Muslim, I will be unworthy of public life” and “it is my resolve” that “I will not do Hindu-Muslim”.
