Modi Shifts Political Strategy: Transitioning from Congress-mukt Bharat to Cong-yukt BJP, says Jairam Ramesh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was showing his “desperation” by moving towards “Congress-yukt BJP'', going back on his earlier rhetoric of “Congress mukt Bharat”, AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Friday.

Ramesh made the remark at a press conference in Sasaram, the headquarters of Bihar’s Rohtas district, which he toured as part of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

“Prime Minister is worried about the BJP-led NDA. Had it not been so, why would he have gone in the direction of Congress-yukt BJP instead of his earlier rhetoric of Congress-mukt Bharat…..it shows his desperation,” remarked the former Union minister.

“Just look at the leaders whom they are inducting into the BJP, offering them Rajya Sabha tickets,” quipped Ramesh, in an obvious reference to Ashok Chavan, a former chief minister of Maharashtra, whom the saffron party named as its candidate for the Upper House a day after he left the Congress.

When asked about the Income Tax department freezing bank accounts of the Congress, he replied, “It reminds me of the adage vinash kale viparit buddhi (one losing senses and heading towards ruin). It is vindictive politics of a regime that is scared, as it knows that it is not coming back to power.'' Ramesh claimed this step (freezing of bank accounts) is against the law, the constitution and democracy. ''It comes a day after the government received a setback in the form of the Supreme Court judgement striking down electoral bonds,'' he said.

“It is a government of suit, boot (opulence), jhooth (lies) and loot, he claimed adding that former prime minister Manmohan Singh had called demonetization an organised loot and legalised plunder. Similar views have been echoed by the Supreme Court with regard to electoral bonds, asserted the AICC general secretary.

“But the Modi government cannot muzzle our voice. We will challenge this move of the Income Tax department in the court and take recourse to all remedies that are available in a democracy,” Ramesh said.

Young party leader Kanhaiya Kumar, who was also present at the press conference, interjected to add: “Freezing of our accounts is an attempt at headline management by the Modi government which wanted to divert public attention from the electoral bonds issue”.

Ramesh made light of the exit of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar from the opposition bloc INDIA and asserted that the JD(U) president was “only one of the many leaders” who had agreed to come together and fight the BJP.

“INDIA bloc still has 26 parties and we are guided by the principles of insaaf (justice) and insaniyat (humanity). As my young friend Kanhaiya once suggested, take these two I’s away from INDIA and what you are left with is NDA”, quipped the Congress leader.

The former Union minister, who began his speech by evoking memories of former deputy prime minister Jagjivan Ram, who used to represent Sasaram in the Lok Sabha, also slammed Nitish Kumar for “destroying agriculture in Bihar which became the first state to have scrapped the APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) Act”.

Ramesh alleged that the Primary Agriculture Credit Societies in Bihar had started acting as “middlemen”.

Replying to a query about the Ram temple “pran Pratishtha” ceremony, the Congress leader said, “We refused to attend it because it was an all-out political event. Also, the gala event seemed to have no space for common citizens. All you could see were celebrities”. Ramesh also flayed the Modi government for allegedly not paying heed to farmers protesting in Delhi and reiterated that if voted to power, the Congress will ensure legal guarantee for minimum support price and implementation of the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission.