Cong manifesto bundle of lies, prepared to create confusion, mislead voters: BJP

The BJP on Friday dubbed the Congress's Lok Sabha poll manifesto a ''bundle of lies'' and alleged that the party, which ruled the country for decades, did not honour any of the promises made in its earlier manifestos for Assembly and parliamentary elections.

The Congress released its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on Friday, making a host of promises, including the right to apprenticeship, a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops and raising the 50 per cent cap on reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBC).

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the Congress of coming up with such a manifesto to create confusion among voters and mislead them.

''The Congress manifesto is a bundle of lies. It has been prepared to create confusion among voters,'' BJP's national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi told reporters here.

He said it is an irony that the Congress is seeking the people's mandate with the promise that it will ''do wonders'' if voted to power again.

''After remaining at the helm for several decades, they are now promising that they will do wonders if voted to power. The Congress has titled its manifesto 'nyay patra', which means it admits that it had done 'anyay' (injustice) during its 55-60 years of rule in the country,'' Trivedi said.

''The Congress did not fulfil any of the promises made in its earlier manifestos for Assembly and Lok Sabha elections,'' he alleged.

Describing the opposition party's poll assurances as ''lies'', the BJP leader said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has promised to roll out a scheme to provide Rs 1 lakh annually to a woman from every poor family in the country, whereas none of the Congress-ruled states has implemented Rahul Gandhi's earlier promise of Rs 76,000 to people every year.

''Which are the Congress-ruled states where Rahul Gandhi's promise of giving Rs 76,000 to people has been implemented?'' Trivedi asked.

He accused the Congress of not doing justice with the country's youngsters, economy, industry, military and security when it was in power.

''Those who did not do justice to India's cultural pride, social harmony and capacity have reappeared in disguise and are promising to do justice today,'' he said.

Trivedi alleged that the Congress succeeded in ''misleading'' people in the past, when the ''media was not free, the literacy rate was low and communication mediums were not so strong''.

''But the time has now changed. It is not possible to create a veil of lies (anymore),'' he said.

Trivedi said the BJP formed its government for the first time at the Centre in 1998, when the country's literacy rate was about 50 per cent, and formed its government with a clear majority under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership in 2014, when the country's literacy rate had gone up to about 60 per cent.

''Now, when the country's literacy rate is above 75 per cent, we are also moving forward to achieve the target of securing 400-plus seats (in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls),'' he said, adding that the Congress is on its way to ''oblivion''.

Trivedi also claimed that in its manifesto, the Congress used a photo from Thailand, which he described as Rahul Gandhi's favourite destination, and another from the Buffalo river in New York, and said this shows the level of foreign influence on the opposition party.

''As of now, Gandhi used to make derogatory comments from abroad against India and seek support to fight against Modi. Now, he has started using pictures borrowed from foreign countries. This raises a very serious question,'' he said.

The Lok Sabha polls are scheduled to be held in seven phases starting April 19 and the counting of votes will be taken up on June 4.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)