Congress exposed on fake poll vows: PM

New Delhi/Bengaluru: As political outfits fall over each other to woo voters with sops during election time, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge took a realistic route and told the party's state units to "announce guarantees on the basis of their Budgets". The Congress president warned that any unplanned approach and announcement could lead to a "crisis."

Latching on to Kharge's advice to the Congress’ state units, the BJP on Friday launched a fierce attack on the Opposition party. Leading the charge for the saffron party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Congress stood "badly exposed" in front of people for promising what they know they will never be able to deliver.

In a series of posts on X, Modi said, “The Congress party is realising the hard way that making unreal promises is easy but implementing them properly is tough or impossible. Campaign after campaign, they promise things to the people, which they also know they will never be able to deliver. Now, they stand badly exposed in front of the people! #FakePromisesOfCongress.”

Pointing at the "poor" fiscal health of Congress-ruled states, the Prime Minister said any state where the Congress has governments today, be it Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka or Telangana, the developmental trajectory and fiscal health are turning from bad to worse.”

Modi posted: “Their so-called guarantees lie unfulfilled, which is a terrible deceit upon the 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.”

“In Karnataka, the Congress is busier in intra-party politics and loot instead of even bothering to deliver on development. Not only that, they are also going to rollback existing schemes. In Himachal Pradesh, salaries of government workers are not paid on time. In Telangana, farmers are waiting for the waiver they promised. Previously, in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, they promised certain allowances that were never implanted for five years,” Modi said, pointing out that there are numerous such examples of how the Congress works.

Urging people to be vigilant against the Congress’s fake promises, Modi said, “The people of the country will have to be vigilant against the Congress-sponsored culture of fake promises!.”

Noting that people of Haryana rejected the Congress’ lies, the Prime Minister said, “We saw recently how the people of Haryana rejected their lies and preferred a government that is stable, progress oriented and action-driven. There is a growing realisation across India that a vote for the Congress is a vote for non-governance, poor economics and unparalleled loot. The people of India want development and progress, not the same old #FakePromisesOfCongress!”

Kharge's statement came after the Congress government in Karnataka suggested that it could review the Shakti scheme, which ensured free bus travel for women. He urged for careful considerations and warned that an unplanned approach could lead to financial difficulties and negatively impact future generations.

During the press conference, the Congress president underscored the importance of fiscal responsibility, stating that if the government fails to deliver on its commitments, it could result in a bad reputation and hardships for the community.

The Congress president said: "In Maharashtra, I've said that they shouldn't announce 5, 6, 10 or 20 guarantees. They should announce guarantees based on budget. Otherwise, there'll be bankruptcy. If there's no money for roads, everyone will turn against you. If this government fails, the future generation will be left with nothing but a bad name. They'll have to live in exile for 10 years."

Following the Congress president's subtle rap, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said his statement on the Shakti scheme was distorted and presented as if the Congress government in the state wanted to withdraw it.

"Whatever statement I had made was distorted as if we would stop it (Shakti scheme). I only said some section of people are saying so. There is no question of winding up any guarantee," the Karnataka Deputy CM told the media in Bengaluru.

Notwithstanding the clarification, the BJP latched on to the Congress president's advice that his party's state units should make only those promises that are fiscally doable and demanded Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Kharge's apology. Kharge's statement is seen by many as an acknowledgement of financial constraints that some of its guarantees face in states.

Addressing a press conference in the national capital, former Union minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad asked mockingly if Kharge had given his first "gyan" to Rahul Gandhi, noting the former Congress president often boasted of "khata khat" (immediate) transfer of money to different population segments during state and national elections in the case of his party coming to power.

"I greet Kharge sahab for realising this wisdom at this age. This should have dawned on him earlier. Please give the first lesson of your confession to Mr Gandhi. Mr Kharge should apologise to the country and so should Mr Gandhi,” Prasad said.