Congress picks holes in PM Modi’s Manipur speech
The Hindu
State is fed up with lies and will bid farewell to BJP on March 10, it says
The Congress on Tuesday picked holes in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at an election rally in Imphal, alleging that many of his claims were blatantly false. This was Mr. Modi’s first election address in Manipur, which will vote in two phases on February 28 and March 5.
Mr. Modi had claimed that the BJP's double–engine government has laid a strong foundation for Manipur for the next 25 years.
Countering this, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who is also party‘s election observer for the State, tweeted, “The truth is the people of Manipur are fed up with the double–engine haijinbi govt. of BJP in Delhi and Imphal. The mood of Manipur is clear. Come 10th March, it will be Bye-Bye, BJP!” ‘Haijinbi” stands for false promises in Manipuri.
In a long tweet thread, Mr. Ramesh picked out “six lies”. The Prime Minister’s claim that Manipur has got full vaccine cover is wrong. Mr. Ramesh pointed out that only 47.6% of eligible population have got double dose.
“PM claimed balanced development in Manipur & taking administration to the door. The truth is BJP govt. has effectively shut the doors of the Autonomous District Councils by not holding elections in the last 5 years. This is murder of democracy in the hills and the grassroots.”
Mr. Modi in his speech had said that under the Congress government, the State’s power sector was badly hit. Mr. Ramesh said it is blatantly false since the Modi government gave a national award to the Congress govt. in 2015-16 for power sector reforms.
“PM claimed palm oil plantations will benefit Manipur’s farmers while the truth is it is the transfer of profits & farm lands to 2-3 big palm oil companies. PM made tall claims on bringing railways to Manipur. Truth is Congress govt. completed more than 70% of the projects by 2017,” Mr. Ramesh said.
With the clock ticking down to the Lok Sabha election counting day on Tuesday, opposing fronts are perceptibly edgy and poised to continue the rancorous skirmishing that marked the campaign season in Kerala. The United Democratic Front, led by the Congress, is seemingly basking in the “interim victory” granted by various exit polls. The UDF discerns that its poll strategy of turning the polls foremostly into a damning referendum on the Left Democratic Front government’s perceived failures rather than BJP’s “divisive politics” at the national level stood a fighting chance of paying off.