Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said BJP leaders would have been jailed if the INDIA bloc had secured 20 more seats in the recent Lok Sabha polls.

Kharge addressed an election rally in Anantnag where he released the Congress manifesto for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, promising a host of development schemes.

The Congress leader minced no words in attacking the BJP and said it was rattled by the Congress-National Conference alliance. NC president Farooq Abdullah also addressed the crowd.

The BJP has been attacking the Congress for joining hands with the NC, which has pledged to continue its fight for the restoration of Article 370 and pre-1953 autonomy.

Kharge defended the alliance and launched a blistering attack on the BJP. “They used to say Ab ki baar 400 paar (this time more than 400 seats). You came down to 240. If we had 20 more seats, they would all have been in jail. They deserve it,” he said.

Kharge said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was heading a minority government. “Modi does not have a full majority, not a full-fledged government. Their foot was broken and they have to rely on the TDP and Nitish Kumar,” he said.

He claimed the BJP was facing a rebellion in Jammu and Kashmir. “That is why the BJP is changing lists (of candidates) repeatedly. Sometimes (Amit) Shah is doing it, sometimes it’s local leaders. You should know they are scared because of the unity of the INDIA bloc,” he said.

He said the people of Jammu and Kashmir would not bow before the BJP. He said the BJP not only snatched its statehood but its policies had impoverished people.

Kharge announced five guarantees if the Congress comes to power. They are interest-free loans of ₹5 lakh for women entrepreneurs, ₹25 lakh health insurance per family, ₹3,000 per month for women heads of each family, 11kg grain per person through the public distribution system and the return of the Pandits.

Kharge said there were one lakh job vacancies in Jammu and Kashmir but the current dispensation was not filling them. “We will fill these vacancies. They did not bring any industry. We will focus on tourism and manufacturing. More than 4,400 government schools have been closed in the past several years. We will reopen them as we will focus on education,” he said.

Kharge iterated that the party would strive for the restoration of statehood while promising to restore a bicameral legislature in the Union Territory.