Congress's Kharge hits back at PM Modi, calls his 'guarantee' a cruel joke on 140 cr Indians

NEW DELHI: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge reacted sharply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's remarks that the party stood "badly exposed" because of its inability to implement poll promises and said before pointing fingers, the PM should note that "Modi ki guarantee" is a "cruel joke on 140 crore Indians".

While steering clear of his comment advising caution while making poll promises, which triggered the war of words, Kharge said, "Lies, deceit, fakery, loot and publicity are the five adjectives which best describe BJP govt at Centre."

Senior Congress functionaries including Karnataka chief minister (CM) Siddaramaiah and Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukku too joined in to counter PM Modi's allegations.

"The 'B' in BJP stands for betrayal, while 'J' stands for jumla," Kharge said. He went on to ask the PM about the promise of two crore jobs per year.

"Why is India's unemployment rate at a 45-year high? Why have household savings plunged to a 50-year low? What happened to "acche din"? Rupee is at an all-time low. Economic inequality is at a 100-year-high," he said.

Siddaramaiah said before pointing fingers at Congress, Modi should take a hard look at BJP "disastrous legacy" in Karnataka. "We are fulfilling every promise we made to our people - all five guarantees implemented with a budget over Rs 52,000 crore, and an additional Rs 52,903 crore in capital outlay to build Karnataka's future," he added.

"And the irony, while Karnataka contributes significantly to the Union's coffers, your govt starves us of our rightful share to prevent us from implementing guarantee schemes. This is not cooperative federalism, it's outright exploitation," he further added.

Meanwhile, Sukhu listed the achievements of the state including reinstating the Old Pension Scheme for state employees and providing a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 for eligible women, among others.