Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a fresh attack on the Opposition from Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh, drew comparisons between the Congress 60-year rule and his government’s 60-month tenure while taking a dig at the party’s poll manifesto.
“People who ruled 60 years have done nothing… I have been here for only 60 months, you can see for yourself,” the Prime Minister said on Wednesday in Arunachal that is due for both Parliament and Assembly elections in weeks.
Taking a dig at the Congress’s poll manifesto released on Tuesday, PM said it is corrupt, not a ‘Ghoshnapatra but a dhakoslapatra’ (it’s not a manifesto but an eyewash).
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The PM, who was in Aalo on Saturday to campaign for union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju who is the BJP nominee for Arunachal West seat, was campaigning for BJP state chief Tapir Gao who is the contesting from Arunachal East, on Wednesday.
The prime minister cited the Congress manifesto for the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, and said it had promised that every house would have electricity by 2009.
{{/usCountry}}The prime minister cited the Congress manifesto for the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, and said it had promised that every house would have electricity by 2009.
{{/usCountry}}“However, till 2014 around 18,000 houses were unelectrified... Just like them (the Congress), their manifesto is corrupt and full of lies. Therefore, it should be called hypocrisy document, not a manifesto,” Modi said.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi Tuesday released his party’s manifesto for Lok Sabha polls, making jobs creation, addressing farm distress, bringing a single moderate rate of GST and giving ₹72,000 per annum to poor families as key focus if the party comes to power.
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The PM also asserted that the Congress was supporting those ‘harming the country. “The politically-bankrupt Congress is strengthening the traitors but your chowkidar is alert and will counter all these forces,” the PM said.
“We are not those who make one promise and keep it unfulfilled for decades. But we are those who work with full integrity to make your lives easier,” he said.
“We were not ones who sold dreams of a toilet in each house. But today that completion of that goal is very much visible. We didn’t shout about ridding kitchens of our poor sisters of smoke, but today over 70 million homes have free gas connections,” Modi added.
The PM spoke about Ayushman Bharat healthcare scheme and mentioned how over 3 lakh people in Arunachal Pradesh have benefited with free medical facilities of up to ₹5 lakh.
Dwelling on the regional aspirations, Modi said his party had given importance to the region while the country that ruled for 70-years never bothered about the area.
“Though Congress had ruled Arunachal Pradesh and in the Centre for decades they had forgotten northeast. Look at their manifestoes and budget speeches and you will see how much space they used to give to the region. Congress didn’t give space to northeast in their ‘dil’ (heart) or in Dilli (New Delhi),” he added.
Seeking votes for his party in Lok Sabha and assembly elections, the PM said “the double engine of lotus in Delhi and Itanagar” will ensure development in the region.
Voting for the two Lok Sabha seats and all 60 assembly constituencies in Arunachal Pradesh will take place on April 11.