"Was DMK not part of NDA under Vajpayee?": Jairam Ramesh hits back at BJP

New Delhi [India], April 15 : Hitting back at the Bharatiya Janata Party over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on party's alliance with DMK, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the same party was also a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) under the premiership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
DMK and Congress are both part of the INDIA bloc. The two parties are contesting the Lok Sabha elections together in Tamil Nadu.
Speaking to ANI, Jairam Ramesh said, "Was DMK not with BJP. Was it not a part of NDA for five years under Atal Bihari Vajpayee...And PM Modi knows that he will get zero seats in Tamil Nadu. He is frustrated; that's why he is raising unnecessary issues."
Earlier, during an interview with ANI, Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the Congress party for its alliance with DMK over party leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's derogatory remarks against 'Sanatana Dharma'.
"The question should be asked of Congress. What is your helplessness? Why are you sitting with people who are so vicious against Sanatana? Will your politics remain incomplete? What is this Congress thinking? This is the topic of concern. The birth of DMK must have been born in this hatred. The question is not theirs, the question is of a party like Congress. That has it lost its original character?" PM Modi said.
Reacting to PM Modi's comments on electoral bonds, Jairam Ramesh said that it is only because of the Supreme Court verdict that the electoral bond data has come out. He also accused the BJP of carrying out corruption in multiple ways using the scheme.
"See, our Prime Minister doesn't say the truth, even by mistake. The truth is that had the Supreme Court not intervened, and not passed the order calling the electoral bond unconstitutional, no one would have gotten to know who made the donations and to whom. And the Prime Minister, till the last moment, asked the State Bank of India to reveal the data. They asked for time until June 30 but SC asked them to publish immediately," the Rajya Sabha MP further said.
"Four ways were adopted for corruption. First, 'Chanda do dhada lo'. Second, 'Theka lo ghoos do'. Third was 'hafta vasooli' (extortion) and fourth were fake companies. Rs 8200 crore was received by the BJP. Today, PM is saying that it is because of him the data has come out...it's not because of him, but because of the Supreme Court," he added.
Earlier, PM Modi accused the opposition parties of "spreading lies" over the electoral bond scheme, and said everyone will regret it when there is an honest reflection. He added that the scheme was aimed at curbing black money in elections and said the opposition wants to run away after making allegations.
Hitting back at the Prime Minister's attack on Congress for not attending the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, the Congress leader said the party is "Ram Pujari" and not "Ram Vyapaari." He said that the grand old party is completely against politisation of religion.
"We are not Ram Vyapaari, we are 'Ram Pujari'. That was a political event and was centred around one individual, Narendra Modi, not on Lord Ram. So, we were invited for a political event and not a religious event. We are completely against the politicisation of religion, because it brings both religion and politics to a low...we don't need a certificate from the Prime Minister, BJP or the Home Minister," Jairam Ramesh added.
PM Modi had questioned the Congress for its refusal of the invitation to attend the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Mandir and said that the party refused the invitation only because of "vote bank" politics.