lok-sabha-elections

Updated: Apr 06, 2019 16:49 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi compared the Congress party with the lead protagonist of a Bollywood film, Ghajini, as he dismissed the principal Opposition party’s poll promises in its recently released manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections.

“The Congress party has become like the main protagonist in the Ghajini movie. They don’t remember the promises they have made in earlier manifestos,” said PM Modi in an interview to Hindustan, a sister concern of Hindustan Times.

In the movie, which the prime minister referred to in his interview, the lead character, played by actor Aamir Khan, suffers from short-term memory loss and can’t remember things beyond a 15-minute time frame.

PM Modi alleged that the Congress forgets what it promises and that it has failed to deliver in the past. He said ‘eradicate poverty’ has been the Congress’s poll plank since the days of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister.

Providing cash support to nearly 5 crore poor families, increasing employment opportunities, farm loan waiver, a separate agriculture budget and greater budgetary allocations to health and education sectors are among the top promises made by the Congress for the Lok Sabha election.

Also Read | PM Modi’s full interview here

“Look at the Congress track record. In 2004, they promised electricity for every household in three years. In 2009, they said electrification can happen in urban areas and for rural areas it will take more time but even till 2014 this had not happened,” PM Modi said.

The Congress has promised to roll out its Nyuntam Aay Yojana or NYAY if the party is voted to power in the Lok Sabha election. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has called it a “revolutionary” idea that will change the “face of India”.

Under minimum income guarantee scheme, the Congress has promised to provide direct cash transfer to the bank accounts of women in the poorest 20 per cent families.

Also Read | ‘It was our mahamilawat’: PM Modi says alliance with PDP was a wrong move

According to the last Socio-economic and Caste Census, there could be around 5 crore families or 25 crore individuals as beneficiaries under the NYAY (meaning justice) as promised by the Congress.

“Since Nehru’s time, the Congress has claimed poverty eradication is their goal. However, the Congress party has paid lip service to it. Nehru used the slogan, then Indira Gandhi used it, Rajiv Gandhi spoke about it, Sonia Gandhi too said poverty eradication is their goal and now, her son too speaks about poverty eradication. For five generations the Congress has used this slogan,” said PM Modi without mentioning about the NYAY poll promise of the Congress.

He further said, “The Congress has in past promised direct income and a high minimum support price to farmers but they forgot it… Has the Congress party in the last 72 years even given 71 paise to the poor ? The people of India know this very well.”