The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday dismissed the nine questions posed by the Congress party on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nine years in office, calling them a ‘bundle of lies and mountain of deception.’ Addressing a press briefing, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that the questions were the result of Congress’s “hatred towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
The Congress asked Prime Minister Modi nine questions on issues such as rising prices, unemployment and farmers’ income, and demanded an apology for the “betrayal” during his tenure. Posting a list of questions under ‘9 saal, 9 sawaal’ on social media, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the BJP built a “9-year-old building on false promises and the plight of the public!”
The Congress asked, “Why is it that inflation and unemployment are skyrocketing in India? Why have the rich become richer and the poor poorer? Why is public property being sold to PM Modi’s friends, even as economic disparities are increasing?”
On the issue of farmers, the grand old party asked why is it that the agreements made with farmers while repealing the three “black” farm laws have not been honoured and why has the minimum support price not been legally guaranteed. It also questioned why didn’t farmers’ income double over the last nine years as promised by the Modi government.
The third question was about alleged corruption and cronyism, asking why the prime minister is putting people’s hard-earned savings in LIC and SBI at risk to benefit his “friend” Adani.
“Why are you letting thieves escape? Why are you silent on rampant corruption in BJP-ruled states, and why are you letting Indians suffer,” the document read.
On the issue of national security, the Congress asked “why is it that even after your clean chit to China in 2020, they continue to occupy Indian territory”.
The party also asked why deliberate “politics of hatred” for electoral gains was being used and alleged that an atmosphere of fear in society was being fuelled.
“Why are you silent on the atrocities against women, Dalits, SC, ST, OBCs and minorities? Why are you ignoring the demand for a caste census,” the sixth question read.
The seventh question was on the alleged misuse of democratic institutions to take revenge against the opposition and the practice of politics of revenge.
The Congress asked the reason behind the alleged weakening of the schemes meant for the welfare of the poor, needy and tribals by cutting their budgets and making restrictive rules.
“Why is it that despite the tragic deaths of over 40 lakh people due to COVID-19, the Modi government has refused to compensate their families? Why did you suddenly impose a lockdown which forced lakhs of workers to return home, and not provide any support?” the ninth and final question read.
As the BJP camp gears up to celebrate nine years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government at the Centre, Congress social media head Supriya Shrinate jibed that the Centre should celebrate a ‘Mahotsav’ Festival of their “failures”.
“Unemployment has been at its highest since independence and the way the government has tried to hide it is a “tragedy”. The Centre has fallen into their own trap but now the poor understand it. Fugitive Businessmen be it Lalit Modi, Mehul Choksi, or Vijay Mallya duped the government of crores and the government could do nothing about it. The reality is 23 crores people were dragged below the poverty line in their reign whom we had benefitted between 2004-2014,” Shrinate said.
