'PM a pathological liar': Ramesh on Modi's criticism of past govts over cheetah reintroduction

Earlier, Ramesh said that 'the tamasha orchestrated by the Prime Minister is unwarranted and another diversion from national issues'

Senior Congress leader and former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday sought to debunk Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claims about previous governments not making constructive efforts on the Cheetah project by sharing an official letter in 2009 that spoke about initiating the project.

Ramesh, who is now Congress General Secretary (Communications), called the Prime Minister a "pathological liar" in a tweet while sharing the letter he wrote to M K Ranjitsinh of the Wildlife Trust of India on 6 October, 2009 to "go ahead and prepare a detailed roadmap for the reintroduction of the Cheetah which should include a detailed analysis of different potential sites".

Read | Villagers fear land acquisition, human-animal conflict as cheetahs arrive in Kuno

Releasing three of the eight cheetahs flown in from Namibia into special enclosures in the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district on Saturday, Modi had alleged that no constructive efforts were made to reintroduce cheetahs in India after they became extinct from the country seven decades ago.

"It is unfortunate that we declared cheetahs extinct in 1952, but for decades no constructive efforts were made to reintroduce them in India. Now, with new strength and vigour, the country has embarked on the project of reviving the population of cheetahs during this 'amrit kaal'," he had said.

Ramesh retorted, "This was the letter that launched Project Cheetah in 2009. Our PM is a pathological liar. I couldn't lay my hands on this letter yesterday because of my preoccupation with the Bharat Jodo Yatra."

On Saturday, Ramesh had tweeted, "The Prime Minister hardly ever acknowledges continuity in governance. The Cheetah project going back to my visit to Capetown on 25 April, 2010 is the latest example. The tamasha orchestrated by the Prime Minister today (Saturday) is unwarranted and is yet another diversion from pressing national issues and Bharat Jodo Yatra."