The Opposition INDIA bloc is “a collection of corrupt leaders” who are either in jail or out on bail, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president J.P. Nadda said on Thursday, February 22, 2024.
Addressing a Labharthi Sammelan (meeting of beneficiaries) in Mumbai during the second day of his tour of the State capital, Mr. Nadda targeted the Congress, remarking that during the Prime Ministerships of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, the number of the country’s poor had shot up to 60%.
“Congress leaders used to take votes in the name of the poor without doing anything for them. They used to make plans sitting in the drawing-room without being concerned about their implementation on the ground, playing the politics of poverty. All this changed after 2014 when PM Modi gave voice and strength to the poor,” Mr. Nadda said, adding that 25 crore Indians have risen above the poverty line today.
‘Corrupt and dynastic politics’
“What has the Congress done except give speeches and hoodwink people all these years? Both Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi are out on bail. Other leaders in the INDIA alliance are either in jail or out on bail. Hemant Soren is in jail. Arvind Kejriwal has ED notices against him, leaders from Mamata Banerjee’s TMC are in jail. All these leaders have come together to save their interests. It is the fight of corrupt and dynastic politics on the one hand, and that of development on the other,” he said.
As part of his tour to oversee the BJP’s election readiness in Mumbai, Mr. Nadda held three meetings with the party’s Mumbai election coordination committee and leaders in charge of the six Lok Sabha seats in the city.
Awareness about Central schemes
He underscored the need to communicate the Union government’s schemes to the people, and to tell them of the corruption of the previous Congress-led government. On Wednesday evening, Mr. Nadda addressed a rally of booth-level party workers in Andheri, exhorting them to speak to the voters about the development wrought by the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
“The first-time and young voters who are 18 years old now have seen the ten years of the development under the BJP. These youngsters do not know of the scams of the previous Congress-led UPA government… It is your duty to highlight the corruption of the government [between 2004 and 2014] to them and ensure that they vote for development,” he said.
Mr. Nadda also held a meeting with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at the latter’s official residence on Wednesday evening, which was also attended by Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.
