As Congress launched a counter-offensive against Narendra Modi, BJP on Monday charged it with lowering the level of political discourse by evading issues of good governance, development and corruption and asked the ruling party to shun its "Modi-phobia".
In a sharp rebuttal to Congress Communication Department Chief Ajay Maken's attack on Modi on Monday, BJP said the Congress leader was short on content and high on enthusiasm. "The level of discourse- be it in the social media or otherwise- has been lowered by the Congress as it has evaded issues of development and good governance. Instead of responding to the questions raised by Modi, they ask questions about Gujarat.... You cannot answer questions with questions," BJP spokesperson Abhimanyu told reporters.
He claimed that the questions raised by the Congress are out of context and hoped that the ruling party will answer Modi's charges. "We had hoped that the Congress will speak on the Bodhgaya blasts, or relief and rehabilitation in Uttarakhand or the scams but Congress only talks about Modi. This shows how much Modi-phobia and Namo-nia Congress is suffering from," Abhimanyu said.
"Modi talks about the nation while Congress talks only about Gujarat. We hope in future Congress will talk about good governance, development or even secularism," he added. Asked about Modi's remarks that Congress hides behind a "burkha (veil)", the BJP leader said the ruling party has always pursued pseudo-secularism.
"Under the garb of secularism, Congress has indulged in politics of appeasement. It has practised divide and rule. Congress is a progeny, a product of the British policy," Abhimanyu said. BJP alleged that the "appeasement politics" of Congress has led to demographic changes in Jammu and Kashmir due to the forced migration of lakhs of Hindus from the state. It also blamed the Congress responsible for illegal immigration from Bangladesh, the communal situation in Assam, Gujarat, Maharashtra and other parts of the country.
The opposition party said instead of targeting Modi all the time, Congress should explain why there are frequent hikes in petroleum prices. "The nation expected that Maken and Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari will talk about why there is price rise. Devaluation of the Rupee has meant that the country has incurred a loss of USD10.5 billion in the last one month," Abhimanyu said.
BJP quoted NSSO data to argue that 80 lakh jobs were created during six years of NDA rule while UPA government has lagged far behind. "The investment climate in the country is so bad that Indian investors are not ready to invest here," the spokesperson said. The main opposition insisted that it wants development and good governance to be the issues and alleged that the Congress is trying to divert attention from them by talking about threat to secularism.
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