Agartala, Feb. 9 (IANS): A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hard-hitting speeches at his election rallies in Tripura, the ruling Left Front and opposition Congress on Friday slammed him for only talking like a BJP leader and ignoring facts.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given speeches like a BJP leader and also his speeches were not based on facts. In view of his government’s misrule and BJP’s negative role in the past four years, he should not criticise others,” Congress General Secretary C.P. Joshi told the media.
Strongly criticising Modi’s speeches, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leaders said that Modi did speak a single word on what basis his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) struck an electoral alliance with the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) which has been demanding a separate state.
Joshi, who is campaigning in the state, said that before criticising other parties and governments, the Prime Minister should introspect about the performance of his own party and governments.
“Despite mobilising all resources in Gujarat and in recent elections, BJP got poor results as the people are not ready to listen the party leaders’ fake and false promises.
“People are not being attracted with the BJP as its ideology does not work, that’s why the party in Tripura and other places is frantically trying to catch the Congressmen and their supporters by mobilising all kinds of resources,” he said, referring to the seven Congress legislators and other leaders who had joined the BJP.
Even Congress candidate Sukumar Chandra Das, fielded in Kakraban-Shalgarha assembly seat, withdraw his nomination paper on February 3 and joined the BJP.
Joshi said that Congress President Rahul Gandhi will address election rallies in the state on February 16, the last date of campaigning.
Meanwhile, CPI-M Central Committee member Bijan Dhar said that Modi’s assurances at the rallies were only election jumlas’ (gimmicks).
He sought to know the the BJP’s and Modi’s motive was in sharing the dais with the “divisive” IPFT, who are demanding separate state and carrying out a series of violent incidents across the state.
“Prime Minister should explain about what they (the BJP) assured before 2014 general elections and what they delivered for the betterment of the people. The assurance of implementation of 7th Pay Commission recommendations for the Tripura government employees is also a ‘jumla’ as many BJP state governments did nothing about it,” added Dhar, also the CPI-M state secretaryy.
He noted that while the BJP leaders are saying that they are not supporting the separate state demand but their ally IPFT has all along being campaigning in its favour, without any objection from them.
Addressing two election rallies in Sonamura in western Tripura and Kailashahar in northern Tripura on Thursday, Modi criticised the performance of the Manik Sarkar-led Left Front government.
IPFT President Narendra Chandra Debbarma shared dais with him at the Sonamura rally. BJP has fielded 51 candidates for the 60-member assembly and left the remaining for IPFT.
Polling in the state would be held on February 18 and votes will be counted on March 3.
