Indian minister says Congress seeking Pak support to remove Modi

NEW DELHI: Indian defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman has accused the Congress of seeking Pakistan’s help to remove Narendra Modi as the prime minister, Times of India reported.

Addressing party workers in Delhi on Saturday, Sitharaman said, “Congress leaders are playing dirty politics by seeking help from Pakistan to remove PM Modi’s government.” The Indian minister asked the BJP workers to spread awareness about the government’s achievements, especially that PM Modi has provided “corruption-free” five years, with no major terror attacks taking place during the tenure.

“BJP workers should highlight two things. First, that there has been no major terrorist attack after 2014. All attempts to wreak havoc in the country have been eliminated at the border itself and this government has ensured that there are no opportunities for terrorists to disturb peace. And second, that we have had corruption-free five years. There has not been even a whisper of corruption in this government,” Sitharaman claimed.

She said that from small to large reforms, Modi had paid attention to good governance. “If we have to continue on the road of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikaas’ (development for all), we can’t afford to lose momentum. It’s only under Narendra Modi’s leadership that the country can foresee a bright future,” she claimed.

The Indian minister said the country presented a very sorry picture in 2014 before the BJP government came to power. “India lived in hopelessness as the government was not responsive, it did not know what the poor needed, there was complete policy paralysis, corruption was rampant and terrorists used to play havoc in the country,” she said.

She said the first thing that Modi said after taking charge was that his government would be committed to the welfare of the poor.

She said the government was able to implement various social welfare schemes because it was able to maintain peace, which was its top priority. Sitharaman claimed that under PM Modi’s leadership the Indian defence forces conducted surgical strikes across the border and instead of commending them, the opposition wanted proof.

“We showed them the proof. And it was the same opposition — some leaders of the Congress — who went to Pakistan seeking help to remove Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is the kind of dirty politics that the Congress plays,” she alleged.