BJP cleared from South and halved in North, says Rajeev Shukla

Lucknow: Congress MP Rajeev Shukla on Wednesday said it has become clear from the last two phases of voting in the Lok Sabha elections that "the BJP has been cleared from the South and halved in the North".

Addressing a a press conference at the state Congress headquarters here, Shukla said it has become clear from the last two phases of voting that there is a "strong undercurrent against the Modi government".

The Rajya Sabha MP said Prime Minister Narendra Modi "himself does not use the slogan of 400 paar in his speeches".

"Forget about crossing 400, Modi ji has now stopped even talking about Modi's guarantee and the truth is that he has again come back to his old talk of Hindu-Muslim," he added.

Shukla said it is unfortunate that national level leaders of the BJP are also spreading lies about the Congress' manifesto 'Nyaya Patra'.

"These people have completely destroyed purity and dignity in politics. The BJP has also forgotten the legacy of Atal Bihari Vajpayee," he said.

Escalating his attack on the Modi government, Shukla said today's BJP says that whatever happened in this country happened only after 2014.

This Lucknow city was also built after 2014. All the development of this country has happened after 2014. The truth is that all former prime ministers have contributed to the development of the country, he added.

The Congress leader said that we had principled disagreements with former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but today the BJP does not even take the names of its own leaders like Vajpayee and Murli Manohar Joshi nor is their photo visible anywhere in the campaign.

Shukla said the BJP is neglecting its workers and distributing tickets to imported leaders.

"In Haryana, six out of 10 tickets were given to the leaders coming from outside. Even today, about 100 to 150 tickets have been given to the leaders of other parties. Instead of leaders, officers are being made ministers in the cabinet. All important ministries are with former officers," he said.

The Congress leader said the low percentage of votes in the last two phases of elections means the BJP workers themselves have stood against Modi's BJP.

Besides, the common voters are also angry with the Modi government regarding inflation and unemployment, he added.

The Congress leader also commented on the controversy over the safety aspect of the Covishield vaccine.

Shukla said the issue of the Covishield vaccine is very serious.

"People's lives have been played with for election donations. The Health Ministry should come forward and give its clarification on this issue," he added.