Nirmala Sitharaman said it is not the ruling party’s job to “make an effective Opposition campaign”.
New Delhi:
The Congress party lacks the vision to present an alternative solution to unemployment and price rise, and are at the moment, defensive about many things, including their wealth redistribution scheme and their impending defeat in the election, Union finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told NDTV today. In an exclusive interview, the minister also accused Congress’s Rahul Gandhi of criticising the government not with facts and figures, but giving statements that solely depend on shock value.
The Congress, Ms Sitharaman said, is constantly out not just to berate the government but to undermine the achievements of the Indian people — which is a far cry from what an Opposition should do.
“You can, as a typical Opposition, you can always stand up and say ‘No, no, we could have done it better. This is not the way to do about it. Our alternative is this. This is what we offer people of India’. I fully will listen to him and take him seriously to even work out a reply,” the minister said.
But the Congress attack currently is an example of “frustration gone wrong,” she added.
Now with the government set to make a big comeback, the Congress and the Opposition alliance are already working on the next steps.
They are “starting to undertake an exercise, as it were, to deny victory to Prime Minister Modi,” Ms Sitharaman said.
Calling the Opposition “sore and bad losers”, the minister said: “Seats are going to be declared and then we will form the government. But they would want to raise questions about the Election Commission, EVM, the data not being released. You know, the tool kit of the alliance is now activated to say, ‘Is this win all right? Are there questions about this win?'”
It is not the business of the ruling party to make an effective Opposition campaign, the minister pointed out.
“We will go about doing our campaign… if you as an Opposition is able to fight this election effectively, fight it out and if you’re able to win, very well,” she added.
But the sense she is getting, is the Opposition getting ready to question the victory, she added.
The BJP is hoping to win 370 seats in the ongoing election, which has reached the last stretch. The party has given its NDA allies a target of 30-plus seats, which will take the NDA score to 400-plus.
The last phase of election will be held on June 1, the counting of votes will take place on June 4.
