In letter to Modi, Kharge says you seem desperate, worried

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 2

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said a letter written by PM Narendra Modi to NDA candidates gave him the impression that the PM had been gripped by "desperation and worry".

Poor policies behind low voter turnout

Modi appears to be worried by low voter turnout in two phases. It shows people are not enthusiastic about Modi’s policies or his campaign speeches. — Mallikarjun Kharge, Cong Chief

Will modi remove reservation limit

I have one question for PM & Home Minister — the limit of quota for SCs, STs and OBCs is 50%... Will they remove this limit? We clearly said in Nyay Patra we will increase it. —

Jairam Ramesh, Cong leader

"I saw the letter written by you to all NDA candidates about what they need to communicate to the voters. From its content, it seems that there is a lot of desperation and worry in you which is leading you to use language that doesn't suit the office of the Prime Minister. The letter shows the lies in your speeches are not having the effect you intended and now you want your candidates to amplify your lies," said Kharge in a letter to PM Modi which he shared with the media.

"Repeating a lie a thousand times doesn't make it the truth… The voters are intelligent enough to read and understand what the Congress has written in its manifesto and what guarantees it has promised," Kharge wrote.

The guarantees given by the Congress were so simple and clear that the party did not have to explain it to voters, he said adding Modi appeared to be worried by the low turnout of voters in the first two phases. It showed that people were not enthusiastic about Modi's policies or his campaign speeches, he said.

"This is not because of the summer heat, but because the poor have been bearing the brunt of your policies. You have appealed to your karyakartas to mobilise voters in the name of religion. If the voters are not keen to vote for you, do not blame your karyakartas," he wrote.

Modi claimed reservation would be taken away from the SC, ST and OBC communities and given to the Congress "vote bank". "Our vote bank is every Indian -- the poor, the marginalised, the women, the aspirational youth, the labour class, the Dalits and the Adivasis," Kharge said.

Rejecting the BJP charge against the Congress of practicing appeasement, Kharge said the only appeasement one saw during the last 10 years was appeasement of China by the PM.

Kharge claimed the PM was not interested in talking about key issues. “You are not interested in talking about the increasing atrocities on women by your leaders," he said in his letter. "It is better as the prime minister if you seek votes on the performance of your government over the last ten years instead of indulging in hate speeches. The Congress would like to challenge you or anyone you depute to debate with us on our manifesto and the points you have made,” he said.

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#Congress #Mallikarjun Kharge #Narendra Modi