The Congress on Sunday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his yet another lie during an election rally in Chhattisgarh, which goes to polls on 20 November. The first phase of the assembly polls were held on 12 November.
This was after Modi launched a tirade at the Congress party accusing it of allegedly removing Kesri from the post of party president in the 90s. He laid emphasis on Kesri’s supposed caste as ‘Dalit’ to imply that the Congress was anti-Dalits. Addressing an election rally in Chhattisgarh, Modi said (watch below), “The country knows how Sitaram Kesri, who came from Dalit and exploited community, was removed from his post, locked up in bathroom and was thrown out of office and into the footpath to make way for Sonia Gandhi as the new party chief.”
Taking a dim view of Modi’s comments, former union minister and Congress leader Manish Tewari tweeted, “Kesri was a Bania OBC from Bihar& not a DALIT. However when has PM allowed facts or truth to stand in the way?”
Make a person outside the Nehru-Gandhi the Congress Party President for five years and I will agree that Pandit Nehru made a 'Chaiwallah' the PM.
India has not forgotten how a stalwart like Sitaram Kesri Ji was treated by one family. pic.twitter.com/f4HC0XJii7
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 18, 2018
Modi’s struggle to keep himself abreast with facts aside, he also came under attack for not being able to shocase the achievements of his government both at the Cntre and in Chhattisgarh during his election rallies. Jammu and Kashmir’s former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote, “It doesn’t say much about the incumbent government’s achievements if Sitaram Kesri is sought to be made an election issue in 2018!”
Many on Twitter had detected a tinge of frustration on Modi’s face during his previous election rally in Chhattisgarh after he stooped to a new low with his unsavoury language, used for Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his grandparents.
Addressing Gandhi rudely, Modi had asked if his grandparents had installed bore-wells in Chhattisgarh and the BJP chief minister had removed them. Modi’s Sunday’s speech was almost identical to what he said two days ago in the state, giving impression that the prime minister has found himself in a real spot of bother.
Several opinion polls have given an edge to the Congress in the state.