Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge during his first election rally in Assam hurled "jhooto ka sardar" (the chief among liars) barb at Narendra Modi referring to the Prime Minister's unfulfilled promises, while pushing for the Congress’s agenda of "justice and welfare" for all sections of voters.
During his 35-minute speech on Saturday, Kharge tried to mobilise support for the party candidates from Barpeta and Kokrajhar seats, which will vote on May 7.
Kharge listed the promises made by Modi in the last 10 years, especially of providing two crore jobs a year, depositing Rs 15 lakh in every Indian's account and doubling farmers' income.
The Congress leader asked the visitors at the meeting held at a paddy field in Kaykuchi, a Muslim-majority area, whether the promises made by Modi had been met or not to which the crowd responded in the negative. "That is the reason why I say Modiji aap jhooto ka sardar hain (for committing and not delivering)," he said.
Kharge said the RSS-BJP-Modi know how to divide the nation, pit religion against religion, people against people, while the Congress knows how to unite the nation.
Comparing the BJP and the Congress, Kharge said while the Prime Minister did not visit strife-torn Manipur even for a day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Manipur in January.
Looking confident of winning what appears to be the toughest electoral battle the Congress and its allies have ever faced, Kharge appeared combative both at the rally and at the media conference he presided over in Guwahati soon after arriving in Assam.
Flagging how unemployment and inflation were affecting all sections of society, the Congress chief tried to hard-sell the Congress's five nyay patras (resolutions) for the youth, women, farmers, workers and hissedari (participatory justice), and also the 25 guarantees, some of which include filling up 30 lakh government vacancies and transferring Rs 1 lakh to women and youth in a year.
Said Usman Ali, one of the hundreds who attended the rally, said: "If implemented, these will be very helpful since unemployment is on the rise and so is inflation."
Out of 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam, the BJP currently holds nine seats and the Congress three.
