Congress hits back, says PM trying to hide ‘imminent defeat’

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“It is nothing, Mr Modi and the BJP, except trying to hide your failures. It is an abject acceptance and surrender to defeat, knowing the internal reports and the booth reports of the five phases which are over. But, in that process, you have demeaned your office, the office of the Prime Minister… you have gravely and irreversibly regressed,” said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi.

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Citing rebuttals by former Navy Chief Admiral (retd) L Ramdas and former commanding officer of the aircraft carrier, Vice Admiral (retd) Vinod Pasricha, the Congress said Rajiv Gandhi was on an official visit on INS Viraat.

Rajiv Gandhi on board INS Viraat. (Express Archives)

“But facts don’t matter to Modi. He doesn’t have anything to talk about his own achievements. Rahul Gandhi has been challenging him for the last six months to a debate on the Rafale deal, demonetisation, unemployment, but Modi does not have the courage to speak,” said Pawan Khera, another party spokesperson.

READ | No ships specially diverted for personal use of Gandhis: Retd Admiral on PM’s INS Viraat remark

Singhvi said, “Does this government and this Prime Minister not even know that nobody can set foot (on a warship) unless he is a sitting person of that stature, unless it is an official trip, unless everybody accompanying him… their names are given…”

The Congress called Modi a “Master of Dis-Information” and his party “Bahut Jhooth Party” (BJP).

“Abusing a martyred Prime Minster is the sign of ultimate cowardice. But who is responsible for his assassination? The BJP-backed V P Singh government refused to provide him additional security and left him with one PSO, despite credible intelligence inputs and repeated requests,” said senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel.