BJP wiped out in South, halved elsewhere: Congress's Jairam Ramesh
Calling Narendra Modi the "outgoing prime minister", Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday claimed the polling held so far clearly indicates that the BJP has been "wiped out" from south India and reduced to half in the rest of the country.
Addressing a press conference in Ranchi, he alleged that the PM polarised voters on religious lines, and was now "lying" that he "never did Hindu-Muslim" politics.
"PM Narendra Modi is an outgoing prime minister, and his desperation after the initial phases of the elections says this. Amit Shah is an outgoing home minister. We will get rid of the pandemic of lies after June 4," he said.
Ramesh claimed that "Modi ki Guarantee" has fallen flat and there was no talk about 'Viksit Bharat', and the BJP's campaign was now revolving around "Hindu-Muslim".
He also claimed the INDIA bloc would form the next government at the Centre, and would ensure a nationwide caste census.
He said cast census was necessary to give proper representation to SCs, STs and backward classes.
Alleging that the BJP-led government "badly misused" the ED, CBI and IT Department, Ramesh said that if voted to power, the Congress would ensure that powers given to these agencies are revisited.
He also accused the government of weakening laws related to land acquisition so that "capitalists" could benefit.
"INDIA bloc has been formed to save democracy and the Constitution of the country, and we are fighting this election to save these vital institutions," he said.
Ramesh also said that Congress never spoke about the redistribution of wealth, but it talked about "inclusive distribution".
He said the BJP has now forgotten its slogan of "400-paar". "Our 400-paar is about raising the daily minimum wage to Rs 400, including that for MGNREGA workers."
On the PM's allegation that the Congress received "tempo loads of cash" from "Adani-Ambani" for its leader Rahul Gandhi to stop "abusing" them, Ramesh questioned why the BJP was not "using" the ED and CBI to prove it when two opposition chief ministers could be arrested by these agencies.
