In a dramatic turn of events, the Congress has launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP MP Anurag Thakur, accusing them of making false and misleading statements in the Lok Sabha. This bold move has the potential to escalate into a major controversy within the Parliament.
On Thursday, Congress MP Manickam Tagore penned a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, demanding that the provisions of Direction 115(1) be invoked against the Prime Minister and Thakur. Direction 115(1) allows an MP to highlight inaccuracies in another MP?s statement by writing to the Speaker before raising the issue in Parliament.
Tagore's letter specifically challenges several statements made by PM Modi during his speech in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. According to Tagore, Modi falsely claimed that the Congress had promised Rs 8,500 per month to women, which was only a promise contingent on electoral victory and subsequent government formation. ?It was a promise to be fulfilled on victory and government formation,? Tagore clarified in his letter.
Moreover, the Congress has taken issue with Modi?s assertion that the party?s vote share has decreased in 16 states where it contested alone. The party countered this by providing examples of states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, and Telangana, where their vote share actually increased.
In another contentious point, the Congress refuted Modi?s claim that no bulletproof jackets were provided to the Army during the Congress?s rule. ?There was a shortage of jackets, not that jackets were not there. Even police had bulletproof jackets like in Mumbai attacks,? the letter read. The Congress emphasized that during their tenure, the military was equipped with fighter jets such as the Mig 29, Jaguar, Mirage 2000, and Sukhoi SU 30, contradicting Modi?s statement that the Congress did not provide fighter jets to the Army.
The Congress also targeted Anurag Thakur for his comments in the Lok Sabha on July 1. Thakur had claimed that the Army was not provided with arms and fighter jets during Congress's rule. The party responded by listing the various military assets they had procured, including Jaguars, Mig 29s, SU-30s, Mirage 2000s, and even nuclear capabilities and missiles such as Agni, Prithvi, Aakash, Nag, Trishul, and BrahMos.
Furthermore, the Congress contested Thakur?s assertion that 25 crore people were lifted out of poverty, and questioned his claim that the PM had not taken a single holiday, slyly asking, ?Which category of leave is taken for election campaigns??
