"Cheque drawn on an empty bank...": Rajnath Singh on Congress' manifesto

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], April 7 : Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday launched an attack on Congress and said that the party's manifesto is a "cheque drawn on an empty bank."
The Congress manifesto was released at the party headquarters by party leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi on Friday.
"Congress has made some announcements for the backward and deprived section of the people in its manifesto. They have named it 'Nyay Patra'. If we say it in total, then the Congress manifesto is 'A cheque drawn on an empty bank'," he said.
Singh further said that whatever promises the BJP made earlier in the manifesto have been fulfilled by the central government.
"Whatever promises we (the BJP) made in the manifesto, we have fulfilled them. Whether it is Ram Temple, Article 370, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), or the Triple Talaq, we have fulfilled all of them. The way Congress and so called secular political parties opposed the Triple Talaq law was wrong. The women of any religion, whether they are Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Parsi they are our sisters and mothers. Their safety is our responsibility, and we have done that," Rajnath Singh said.
He further said that the growth rate of the economy is soaring and investment is at its peak.
"I can say this with guarantee that in the last 10 years the growth rate of the economy has been soaring, the fiscal deficit has decreased, exports have transcended, and investment is at its peak," he added.
Singh further said that the nation has "full faith" in the Prime Minister's guarantee adding that PM Modi's guarantee is "twenty-four carat gold."
"As far as PM Modi's guarantee is concerned, the nation has full faith, whereas people are mistrustful of Congress guarantees. Modiji's government has implemented social justice in the true sense in this country. Prime Minister Modiji's guarantee is twenty-four carat gold," he said.
Rajnath Singh said that the last ten years have proved to be golden from an economic, political, strategic, constitutional and cultural point of view.
"In the last ten years, both opportunities and income have increased and poverty has decreased. There has been a record reduction in bank NPA," he added.
The defence minister asserted that during the Congress regime, the soldiers did not have sufficient ammunition.
"During the Congress regime, the soldiers did not have sufficient ammunition. They also had the problem of bullet proof jackets. There were open scams in defence deals. Whereas in our government, not a single scam has taken place in defence deals. Today the people of India are seeing that India is producing large quantities of defence equipment to meet its defence needs. Not only this, now record defence exports are also being made from India," he said.
"In the 21st century, many new challenges are emerging from the point of view of defence. These include threats of cyber war, unconventional warfare, asymmetrical warfare as well as algorithm war. We are also making our forces capable of dealing with these," he asserted.
Singh further said that there has never been such a positive sentiment in the world about India's capabilities.
"There has never been such a positive sentiment in the world about India's capabilities. Hardly anyone in the world has ever experienced such a positive sentiment about India's success," he said.
Earlier on Friday, Congress made a slew of promises in its manifesto including a legal guarantee for MSP, 50 per cent reservation for women in government jobs, repealing Agnipath scheme, doubling GDP in the next ten years, strengthening anti-defection law, restoring the status quo ante with China, mobile phones for students from class IX to XII and amending the GST regime.
The Congress party's election manifesto focuses on 'Paanch Nyay' or five pillars of justice, including 'Yuva Nyay', 'Naari Nyay', 'Kisaan Nyay', 'Shramik Nyay' and 'Hissedari Nyay' as well as the guarantees made by it to the people as part of its poll promises for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Rajasthan will go to the polls in two phases, on April 19 and April 26. Polling for 12 Lok Sabha seats will be held in the first phase on April 19, while the remaining 13 seats will be polled in the second phase on April 26.
The counting of votes for all 543 Lok Sabha seats across the country is scheduled for June 4.