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‘Without Nitish, Naidu…’: Jairam Ramesh's ‘one-third’ PM dig at Narendra Modi
Narendra Modi will be sworn in as the prime minister for the third consecutive time on Sunday evening.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the swearing-in ceremony by calling him a “one-third PM”. According to the Congress leader, Modi would not have become the prime minister for the third time without TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu and JDU chief Nitish Kumar's support in the Lok Sabha election.
“Narendra Modi, in the 2024 elections, has suffered a devastating personal loss, political defeat and a moral debacle. He is a one-third prime minister because, without Naidu and Nitish Kumar, he would not have been Prime Minister…He has become Prime Minister with 240 seats,” Jairam Ramesh said, as quoted by news agency ANI.
“…He somehow managed to get his allies. Even the BJP MPs have not elected him as a leader of the BJP parliamentary party. He got himself anointed as head of the NDA alliance and then had a meeting of NDA MPs in the central hall,” the Congress leader added.
Drawing a comparison with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Ramesh said, “Nehru became PM three times in a row with a two-thirds majority and yet remained a Democrat…Modi is going to become the PM by not even getting 270 on his own.”
Also read: Who will attend Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony?
While the BJP emerged as the single largest party, winning 240 seats in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election, it fell short of the simple majority mark of 272 in the 543-member assembly. This led to the BJP becoming dependent on its allies - N Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) - to form the next government. With the support of the allies, NDA enjoys a comfortable majority with 293 seats. On the other hand, the opposition INDIA bloc won 234 seats.
Modi will be sworn in as the prime minister for the third consecutive time on Sunday evening. Over 8,000 guests, including foreign dignitaries, have been invited to the mega event. Several political parties have also been invited, however, Congress did not receive the invitation until Sunday morning.
Taking a dig at Modi over the guest list, Ramesh said, “Well, clearly the self-styled Vishwaguru, who has now become self-styled Vishwa Bandhu is giving priority to getting international leaders…What's the point of attending this swearing-in ceremony? Because there is no legitimacy to Narendra Modi.”
The Congress leader went on to call Modi's government “illegitimate” and alleged the use of “coercive tactics” to remain in power.
“It is an illegitimate government. It has used money power, institutions, media, fear, intimidation and threat. I don't see this as a democratically elected government, frankly, because the mandate of the people is not for Modi,” he said.
(With inputs from ANI)
