NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he slammed the grand old party over "unfulfilled poll promises" while claiming that the fiscal health of the Congress-ruled states is turning from bad to worse.
While Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Siddaramaiah -- Chief Ministers of two Congress-ruled states -- Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, respectively, took to X to express displeasure over PM Modi's assertion in a series of posts, Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal had select questions for the Prime Minister.
Earlier on Friday, taking to X, PM Modi wrote: "The Congress Party is realising the hard way that making unreal promises is easy but implementing them properly is tough or impossible. Campaign after campaign, they promise things to the people, which they also know they will never be able to deliver. Now, they stand badly exposed in front of the people!"
"Check any state where the Congress has Governments today - Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana - the developmental trajectory and fiscal health is turning from bad to worse. Their so-called Guarantees lie unfulfilled, which is a terrible deceit upon the people of these states. The victims of such politics are the poor, youngsters, farmers and women, who are not only denied the benefits of these promises but also see their existing schemes diluted, " PM Modi further said.
Responding to the Prime Minister, Venugopal wrote on X: "The uncrowned champion of puffery, misdirection and unfulfilled promises has the audacity to question Congress’ unparalleled track record of delivering welfare. Where are the Ache Din, Mr. Modi? Where is the Amrit Kaal? What happened to delivering housing for all by 2022, 100 smart cities, or the many lies you told the people about the benefits of demonetisation?
"Our government in Karnataka, on the other hand, is routinely delivering Rs. 2000 to 1.2 crore women. We are ensuring food security through the Anna Bhagya Scheme which the Centre opposed. Our Telangana Government has taken the burden of debt and misery away from lakhs of farmers. Three crore women of Karnataka have experienced newfound freedom due to the free bus travel guaranteed by the Shakti scheme."
The senior Congress leader added that unlike the "BJP's election gimmicks, ours is a welfare model that has stood the test of time since independence".
"Insincere, vengeful and non-performing leaders have no right to create doubt over our governance, " he added.
Responding to PM Modi, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah proposed holding a public debate on the BJP manifesto released before the 2024 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Taking to X, he wrote: "PM Modi, time and again you have been making false allegations against the Karnataka government. Let's put a logical end to this 'Tu Tu Mai Mai..' discussion. Let's hold a public debate on the manifesto released by your party before the last two Lok Sabha elections. How many of the promises you made in the manifesto have you fulfilled? Let's discuss it publicly. How true is the intelligent people of the country? How many lies? Let's conclude that.
He added: "We have done as we said, what happened to your promises? Rs 15 lakh has been deposited in everyone's account? Has black money disappeared? Two crore jobs created per year? Did farmers' income double? Where is your smart city? Where is your Make in India? What are your achievements? Did I push the country into debt pit? Covering up your failures with lies and slander?a debt
"Dear Prime Minister... we have fulfilled every promise we made to the people - we have implemented our 5 Guarantee Schemes."
Siddaramaiah said that "it is a regrettable development that the Prime Minister of the country, who should have encouraged the success of the implementation of the guarantee schemes and the growing economy of the state, is insulting the state of Karnataka and the Kannadigas by making false allegations".
Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, while addressing PM Modi on X, wrote: "The Congress government in Himachal Pradesh is steadfastly dedicated to fulfilling our promises and fostering inclusive development across the state. We are proud to have already delivered on five out of the ten guarantees made during the 2022 Vidhan Sabha elections."
In another post, he also listed the work done by his government.
"Here's what we've achieved: Reinstated the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for state employees; secured a monthly allowance of Rs 1500 for eligible women; introduced English-medium education starting from Class 1; Launched a startup fund of Rs 680 crore to drive innovation and entrepreneurship across the state; first state to implement MSP for milk: Rs 45 per liter for cow milk and Rs 55 per liter for buffalo milk.
"Ahead of Diwali, we disbursed salaries and pensions on October 28th and increased the Dearness Allowance by 11 per cent for government employees within just 22 months of governance. Through the 'Vyavstha Parivartan' initiative, we are working toward self-reliance despite a challenging financial situation: Rs 75, 000 crore debt inherited from the previous BJP government and Rs 23, 000 crore still pending from the Union Government, " Sukhu wrote on X.