NEW DELHI: :Latching on to recent remarks of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on poll sops, PM Modi on Friday claimed the opposition party “is realising the hard way that making unreal promises is easy but implementing them properly is tough or impossible”. Modi cautioned people to be “vigilant” against Congress’s “culture of fake promises”.
“Campaign after campaign they (Congress) promise things to people, which they also know they will never be able to deliver. Now, they stand badly exposed in front of people,” Modi said in a series of posts on X with the hashtag #FakePromisesOfCongress. Kharge, remarking on Karnataka deputy CM D K Shivakumar’s statement acknowledging problems in carrying on with a scheme, had emphasised the need to take into account fiscal constraints while making promises.
K harge urged careful consideration and warned that an unplanned approach could lead to financial difficulties and negatively impact future generations. Underscoring the importance of fiscal responsibility, he said that if the central govt failed to deliver on its commitments, it could result in a bad reputation and hardship for the community.
BJP, which has been critical of Congress and other rivals for making “irresponsible promises”, treated the remark as a validation of its charge. “Check any state where Congress has govts today — Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana — the developmental trajectory and fiscal health is turning from bad to worse,” PM Modi said as he expanded the attack on Rahul Gandhi’s “khata khat” promises.
“Their so-called guarantees lie unfulfilled, which is a terrible deceit upon people of these states. The victims of such politics are the poor, youngsters, farmers and women, who are not only denied the benefits of these promises but also see their existing schemes diluted,” Modi further said, his remarks set to further inflame the political rivalry during the campaign for Maharashtra and Jharkhand polls.
Kharge responded to Modi by alleging that the PM was guilty of not keeping scores of his promises. Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah also stepped in to assert that his govt was committed to implement the five guarantees. However, his intervention fed into the perception of the widening divergence between him and his deputy, with Modi suggesting that people and the state are suffering because of the relentless feuding between Congress functionaries.
Making a veiled reference to the schism in Karnataka Congress, Modi said the party is busy in intraparty politics and loot instead of delivering on development. “Not only that, they are also going to roll back existing schemes,” he added.
PM Modi said even in Himachal Pradesh, salaries of govt employees were not paid on time; in Telangana, farmers were waiting for the promised waiver. The PM said people will have to be vigilant against Congress’s culture of fake promises.
“We saw recently how people of Haryana rejected their lies and preferred a govt that is stable, progress-oriented and action driven. There is a growing realisation across India that a vote for Congress is a vote for non-governance, poor economics and unparalleled loot. People of India want development and progress, not the same old,” he added.
Earlier, BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad mockingly asked if Kharge had given his first “gyan” to Rahul, noting the former Congress president often boasted of “khata khat” (immediate) transfer of money to different population segments during elections in case his party came to office.
