After BJP released its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections today, the Congress took a swipe denouncing it as a “jumla patra” full of rhetoric. Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guarantee is merely a “warranty of jumlas,” as he has failed to fulfill past promises.
The BJP released its manifesto for Lok Sabha elections, dubbed as ‘Sankalp Patra’, on Sunday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP national president JP Nadda were present at the event.
Kharge accused PM Modi of neglecting significant issues such as job creation, doubling farmers’ incomes, and addressing inflation.
“No accountability for old guarantees, just empty jugglery of words! ‘Modi ki Guarantee’ equals ‘warranty of jumlas (rhetoric),” he said in a post in Hindi, posing 14 questions to the PM.
Addressing a joint press conference, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera highlighted PM Modi’s unfulfilled promises from the 2014 manifesto, such as bringing back black money and eradicating poverty in 100 districts. He also criticized the BJP for not fulfilling promises regarding the establishment of 100 smart cities and strengthening law and order in the North East.
“We have strong objections to the name of BJP’s ‘Sankalp Patra’, it should be named ‘Maafinama’. Modi ji should have apologised to the Dalits, farmers, youth and tribals of the country,” Khera said.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate echoed these sentiments, labelling the BJP’s manifesto as a “jumla patra” and criticizing its lack of consultation with the public.
“PM Modi, after 10 years of rule, has started befooling people. The claim that 25 crore people were taken out of poverty is hollow and no third party has confirmed it. The truth is that every hour two farmers and two youth are committing suicide in the country.
“In a country where there is maximum joblessness, the mention of jobs comes only twice in the BJP manifesto. There is no mention of legal guarantee to MSP in the manifesto. There is no mention of Manipur or China in the BJP’s manifesto,” she alleged.
Meanwhile, the AAP criticized the BJP’s Lok Sabha poll manifesto on Sunday, labelling it a “jumla patra” and asserting that it lacked acknowledgment of the Centre’s past promises.
While the BJP’s “Sankalp Patra” discusses initiatives like “one nation, one election,” common electoral rolls, abolishing train travel waiting lists, expanding 5G networks, and organizing Ramayan festivals worldwide, senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi denounced it as mere rhetoric.
At a press conference, Atishi highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unfulfilled pledge of creating two crore jobs annually for the country’s youth, citing the absence of job creation data in the past decade. She expressed concern over rising unemployment and inflation, with LPG cylinder prices soaring from Rs 300 to Rs 1,200 and diesel prices escalating from Rs 55 to Rs 90 per liter.
“Every family is facing difficulties in meeting their expenses. No one will trust the jumla patra released by the BJP,” Atishi said.