Mallikarjun Kharge writes to PM Modi; seeks time to explain Congress' Nyay Patra
Apr 25, 2024
New Delhi [India], April 25 : Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought time from him to explain in person the party's 'Nyay Patra'.
In his two-page letter, the Congress chief said he is neither "shocked" nor "surprised" by the language used by the prime minister in his recent speeches.
"I am neither shocked nor surprised by your language or your speeches over the last few days. It was expected that you and other leaders from your party would start speaking in this manner after you saw the dismal performance of the BJP in the first phase of the elections. The Congress has been talking about the deprived poor and their rights (Nyay). We are aware that you and your government do not have any concern for the poor and dispossessed," Kharge wrote to the PM.
The Congress has been talking about the deprived poor and their rights ("nyay"), he said and added, "Your 'suit-boot ki sarkar' works for the corporates whose taxes you reduced, while the salaried class pays higher taxes. The poor pay GST even on food and salt and rich corporate claim GST refunds. That is why when we talk of inequality between rich and poor, you are purposely equating it with Hindu and Muslim. Our manifesto is for the people of India whether they are Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Jain, or Buddhist. I think you have still not forgotten your pre-independence allies, the Muslim League and Colonial Masters."
He further said that Congress has always served to empower the poor and the Modi government has looted the money of the poor through Demonetisation.
"Your government was the one who used Demonetisation as an "organized loot and legalized plunder" to transfer the money deposited by the poor in the banks to the rich in the form of loans. Then as a part of conscious design, these loans were surreptitiously written off by your government. The lakhs of crores of corporate loans that your government has written off since 2014 are the transfer of wealth from poor to rich. No farmer's loans, artisans loans, MSME loans, or student loans were waived off by you," he added.
Kharge further said that the BJP government has repeatedly turned away from the atrocities that the poor and backward women are facing in the country.
"Today, you talk about their mangalsutra. Isn't your government responsible for the atrocities against women in Manipur, atrocities against Dailt girls, garlanding of rapists? When farmers are committing suicide under your government, how are you protecting their wives and children? Please read about the Narf Nyay which we will be Implementing when we come to power," he said.
The Congress chief further said that it has become a habit of PM Modi to seize on a few words taken out of context and create a communal divide.
"It has become a habit for you to seize on a few words taken out of context and create a communal divide. You are lowering the dignity of the chair by speaking in this manner. When all of this is over, people will remember that the Prime Minister of the country used such vulgar language for fear of losing an election," he said.
Kharge said that the Congress Nyay Patra aims at providing Nyay to the youth, women, farmers, labourers, and marginalised people across all castes and communities.
"You are being misinformed by your advisors about things that are not even written in our manifesto, I would be more than happy to meet you in person to explain our Nyay Patra so that as the Prime Minister of the country you don't make any statements that are false," he said.
Launching a scathing attack on the Congress party, PM Modi earlier on April 21 alleged that the Congress wants to take away the gold and property of people and distribute it among "those having more children."
"Their Mangalsutra, the question is not of the cost of gold in it, it is linked to her dreams of her life. You are talking of snatching it in your manifesto...will distribute gold and redistribute. When it was their government, they had said that Muslims have the first right over the country's wealth. Who will you distribute after collecting the wealth, distribute it to those who have more children, and distribute it to infiltrators. Will the money of your hard labour be given to infiltrators, is this acceptable to you? Congress manifesto is saying that they will calculate the gold of mothers, sisters and then redistribute the wealth to those whom the Manmohan Singh government had said that the first right to resources is of Muslims. Brothers, sisters, this thinking of urban Naxals, my mothers, sisters, they will not allow even your Mangalsutra to remain in your possession, they will go to this extent," PM Modi had said at a rally on April 21.