‘Congress accepted they misled public’: BJP demands apology from Kharge, Rahul Gandhi over ‘Shakti scheme’ | India News – Times of India

Ravishankar Prasad (ANI photo)

NEW DELHI: BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad made a sharp criticism at the Congress party on Friday for its ‘Shakti scheme,’ demanding an apology from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi. Prasad accused the grand old party of misleading the public and making empty promises.
Speaking at a press conference, Prasad referenced Kharge’s recent statement on announcing schemes based on budgetary provisions.
“The Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge has accepted that we should make an announcement for only those items for which we have budgetary provisions and financial availability, Has Mallikarjun Kharge taught this lesson to Rahul Gandhi? Rahul Gandhi is an expert in making announcements, and he keeps doing it” Prasad said.
He questioned if Kharge had shared this advice with Rahul Gandhi, who, according to Prasad, frequently makes unfulfilled promises.
Prasad also criticised the situation in Himachal Pradesh, where chief minister Sukhvinder Sukhu reportedly asked state employees to forgo their salaries. He pointed out that the Congress government had to withdraw a proposed tax on toilets due to public backlash.
He accused the grand old party of making false announcements for votes without any intent to implement them, citing Karnataka as an example. “They just make announcements and fool the public for the sake of votes and then they don’t implement their promises,” Prasad said.
“For the first time, Congress has accepted that they have misled the public…Will Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge apologise for what is happening in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh?… The INDI alliance will do the same in Maharashtra and Jharkhand and mislead the public…Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the nation,” the BJP leader added.
Pralhad Joshi, a Union minister, echoed Prasad’s sentiments, accusing Congress of making promises solely for electoral gains without following through. “Congress throughout the country in many states are making false promises and are not implementing the guarantees,” Joshi told ANI.
Earlier today, Mallikarjun Kharge advised Congress units to be cautious with their promises, stressing fiscal responsibility.
“They should announce guarantees based on budget. Otherwise, there’ll be bankruptcy. If there’s no money for roads, everyone will turn against you,” Kharge said.
Conflicting statements within the Karnataka Congress emerged regarding the Shakti scheme, which offers free bus transport for women.
While there were suggestions of a review, Karnataka transport minister Ramalinga Reddy assured that there would be no changes to the scheme. Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar also clarified his stance, stating that his previous comments were misinterpreted and reaffirming commitment to the scheme.
“Whatever our elders say we follow that. My statement was twisted. A few have suggested is what I have said. There is no question of closing the schemes. I had just said that we will discuss it. But the BJP just wants to do politics,” he said.