'PM Modi, Amit Shah are sellers and...,' Mallikarjun Kharge in Assam

BARPETA: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah of selling Public Sector Undertakings to industrialists Amband Adani adding that the BJP-led government is unfavourable for the development of the country.

While addressing a public meeting in Barpeta, the Congress president said that PM Modi looted the money of the poor and gave it to the rich.

"They are selling government-owned enterprises i.e. railways, roads, ports, airports. Modi and Shah both are sellers and who are the buyers? Adani and Ambani are the two buyers. This is how the country develops. They are not for the development of the country. PM Modi looted the money of the country, of the poor and gave it to the rich. They have waived off Rs 16 lakh crore of the rich but haven't given anything to the poor or the farmers," Kharge said.

He further praised Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi for bringing the Green Revolution and White Revolution to the country. The Green Revolution brought food security to India and generated a surplus for export. Former PM Indira Gandhi inaugurated the White Revolution at Motihari in Bihar.

"These people (BJP) advertise that PM Modi is the only one who was born to help the poor. In a country where rice and wheat weren't enough produced and we had to import from America, today we are producing the amount of wheat, rice and pulses that are sufficient for the people of the country to have their meals. This is all because of Congress, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, and Indira Gandhi who brought the Green Revolution and White Revolution to the country," he added.

"In a country where not even a needle used to be manufactured, if someone dared to launch rockets, it was Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi," he said.

He further asserted that PM Modi is afraid of Congress and that is the biggest reason he keeps abusing the party.

"Modiji keeps abusing us all day long because he is afraid of Congress. He is afraid of Rahul Gandhi. Modi ji talks about bullet trains, but he did not even provide a train here (Assam). We promise you that as soon as the INDIA coalition government comes... - We will complete the railway line here, strengthen the health sector of Barpeta, double the income of Anganwadi and Asha workers and in villages with a population of more than 2,500, one more ASHA sister will be appointed," he assured the people of Assam.

Assam recorded 77.35 per cent voter turnout in the second phase of polls, which was held in five parliamentary constituencies in the state on April 26.

80.56 per cent voter turnout was recorded in Nagaon parliamentary constituency, while 78.41 per cent voter turnout was recorded in Darrang-Udalguri, 75.97 per cent in Silchar, 75.63 per cent in Karimganj and 73.11 per cent in Diphu seat.

Assam recorded a 78.25 per cent polling percentage in the first phase of polls in five parliamentary constituencies - Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Kaziranga, and Sonitpur on April 19.

The third phase of polls in four Lok Sabha seats in Assam - Guwahati, Barpeta, Kokrajhar, and Dhubri will be held on May 7.

Forty-seven candidates are in the fray in the third phase of polls and more than 81 lakh voters will exercise their franchise.

Voting for the second phase took place on Friday across 88 Lok Sabha constituencies, including all 20 seats in Kerala, 14 in Karnataka, 13 in Rajasthan, eight in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, five each in Assam and Bihar, six in Madhya Pradesh, three each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one each in Tripura, Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir.

The first phase of voting for the seven-phased Lok Sabha election was held on April 19 in 102 constituencies across 21 states and UTs, with over 62 per cent voter turnout. The counting of votes for all seven phases of Lok Sabha polls will be held on June 4, 2024.