Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh has launched scathing remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's election strategy, labelling him as an "outgoing PM" in the Lok Sabha elections.
"He will continue to do all these things, but it's clear that he is an outgoing PM in the Lok Sabha elections. We will bid farewell on the 4th because they won't be getting a mandate. Elections have been held for 379 seats in 4 phases, and it was evident after the second phase that the BJP is clear in South India and half in East and West India," Ramesh said on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a grand roadshow in Patna along with CM Nitish Kumar and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday evening. Asserting that the BJP and BJD represent two sides of the same coin, Ramesh accused the BJD of tacitly supporting the Modi government's policies while maintaining a facade of opposition in Odisha.
"We (Congress) haven't been in power (in Odisha) for 24 years now. The issues we're focusing on in this election, such as those concerning farmers, backward classes, tribals, and youth unemployment and inflation, are the same issues we're fighting for. There's no real difference between the BJP and BJD; they are two sides of the same coin, Ramesh said.
"The real battle in this election in Odisha is between Congress and the BJP - BJD. Although there isn't an official alliance between them, unofficially, there is a coalition because the BJD has supported every policy of the Modi government for the past 10 years. They support in Delhi and fight a friendly battle here. That's what's happening between the BJP and BJD," he added.
Ramesh criticised the Pran Prathishta ceremony as a political spectacle aimed at bolstering the image of a political figure, distancing the Congress from the event while affirming their reverence for Lord Ram within Indian society.
"We are worshippers of Ram, not businessmen; Ram devotion is in our society. Ram resides in the hearts of every Indian, but the ceremony on January 22 was a political event, a political show for the ego of a political figure. So, we didn't attend, but that doesn't mean we're not devotees of Ram," Ramesh said.
The Ram Mandir was opened to the public after Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony on January 22, which was attended by top sportspeople and celebrities. In the Lok Sabha elections, 4 of Odisha's constituencies voted in the fourth phase of the general elections. Voting also took place in 28 of the total 147 Assembly seats on May 13.
In the 2019 Assembly election, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) won 112 out of 146 seats, while Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) won 23 seats and Congress won 9. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) won the majority of seats in the state, while the BJP and the Congress brought up the rear. The BJD won 12 seats, the BJP finished a close second at 8, and the Congress bagged just a lone seat.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from ANI)
