Calling interview, a “monologue” that was “much ado about nothing”, Surjewala said, “It was I, me, mine and myself.The Congress on Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi following his interview to ANI and accused him of suffering from an “I, Me, Mine and Myself” syndrome and argued that his “I’s” and “lies” have destroyed India’s social fabric and economy.
The party said the nation expected the Prime Minister to talk about the 10 major poll promises he had made in 2014, but was left disappointed.
Congress communication department in-charge Randeep Surjewala said he failed to understand what the Prime Minister meant when, responding to a question on bringing an ordinance for construction of Ram temple at the disputed site, Modi said his government will make all efforts once the judicial process is over. Arguing that the decision of Supreme Court, whatever it may be, “should be accepted by everyone”, Surjewala said, “There is no need for an ordinance thereafter…the Prime Minister is trying to derail.”
He said, “Which constituency is he trying to please? I hope (RSS chief) Mohan Bhagwat and other colleagues of his are listening carefully – he has (today) rejected his own party and the RSS’s demand. We are happy that the Prime Minister is today stating that the Supreme Court will decide the issue, but he is trying to confuse and sidestep the issue by saying an ordinance will come thereafter. On the decision of the Supreme Court, there is no need for an ordinance, Mr Prime Minister — that is law of the land.”
Surjewala also hit out at Modi’s assertion that there is no personal allegation against him. He said the only charge (in the Rafale deal) is against the Prime Minister: charges of wrongdoing, misuse of office, and blatant corruption and cronyism. Surjewala said Modi has again blatantly lied to the nation.
Referring to former French President Francois Hollande’s remarks that the Indian government had proposed the name of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence as the offset partner for Rafale deal, he said the charge is against the Prime Minister.
Calling it a “monologue” that was “much ado about nothing”, Surjewala said, “It was I, me, mine and myself. Modi-ji your I’s and lies have destroyed India’s societal fabric and India’s economy, trampling upon constitutional institutions, as also rights of individuals snatching livelihood and shutting down businesses.”
He said India wanted answers to the Prime Minister’s top-10 promises. “Where are Rs 15 lakh that you had promised? Has Rs 80 lakh crore of black money been brought back? Have you created 2 crore jobs a year? You had promised cost plus 50 per cent profit to farmers, what happened to that? You had promised simplification of taxes but you destroyed small and medium businesses by implementing a flawed GST.
“The nation wanted answers on the demonetisation disaster. You had deeply imperiled national security in the last 55 months — 428 security personnel were killed in J&K alone and 248 killed in Maoist attacks — yet you feel your government has dealt with both with resilience. Has Ganga been cleaned? Where are the 100 smart cities? Why don’t you speak about Start Up India, Stand Up India, Skill India any longer? What happened to Make in India?”
Surjewala also said Modi has become so helpless that he is not being able to tell where he will fight the Lok Sabha election from, or whether he will contest at all.
Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma tweeted, “PM Modi did not spare people of his penchant for false promises, hollow claims and propaganda even on the New Year day. The habitual peddler of untruths and lies has signalled a nasty narrative for the 2019 election campaign. People cannot be fooled through a fixed interview. Have the courage to face us in Parliament or address a press conference…”
