On August 15, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman slammed Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala for calling the people who vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ‘demons’. Sitharaman indicated that the Congress party will be taught a lesson by the voters in the upcoming elections.
She also questioned the credibility of the Congress leader who labeled the voters as ‘demons’. “How can the one who called voters ‘demon’ go in front of voters and ask for their votes?” she asked, emphasizing the contradiction between such rhetoric and the need to gain popular support.
In an exclusive interview with Republic TV, Sitharaman said, “During Covid, when the Centre was providing free vaccines to the states, Congress-ruled states either discarded them or sold them at Rs 1000. Congress is an expert in misuse. They misused the people’s vaccine.”
EXCLUSIVE: FINANCE MINISTER INTERVIEW
— Republic (@republic) August 15, 2023
On Congress leader's 'Those who vote for Modi are demons' remark Finance Minister @nsitharaman
says 'People will teach them a lesson.'
Don't miss a second, tune in here to WATCH #RepublicExclusive with @aishkapoor here-… pic.twitter.com/ucK0P1MFKO
Congress, according to the finance minister, failed to properly manage the vital vaccine distribution procedure, highlighting their apparent contempt for the general welfare.
Sitharaman stated that no one in the Congress party is capable of effectively opposing the policies put in place by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She emphasized how pleased people were with various welfare programs like ration distribution, access to power, and road building. “Common people have full faith in PM Modi,” she asserted.
Further commenting more on the ‘demon’ comment made by Surjewala, Sitharaman said, “Because of the frustration, Congress neta in Haryana gave a statement that those who give votes to PM Modi are equivalent to demons.”
The 26-party coalition known as the “I.N.D.I.A.” alliance was also mocked by Sitharaman for lacking a clear message to the general public. “The alliance of dot dot dot does not have anything to speak to people, this is their weakness… They are doing natakbaazi,” she said. She expressed hope that those who had used disparaging words for voters would face consequences and learn a lesson.
As reported earlier, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala in Kaithal, Haryana abused the Prime Minister calling him a demon. Earlier, Surjewala, while addressing the ‘Jan Akrosh’ rally, at the Uday Singh fort in the district, sparked controversy by also hitting out at those voting for the BJP.
#WATCH | In Kaithal, Haryana, Congress MP Randeep Surjewala says, "…Those who vote for BJP and are BJP supporters are of 'raakshas' (demons) tendency. I curse from this land of Mahabharat…"
— ANI (@ANI) August 14, 2023
(13.08.2023) pic.twitter.com/IGuouzalbS
“Demons of the BJP and JJP, you are demons. Those who vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party and those who support the Bharatiya Janata Party have demonic tendencies. I curse from the land of Mahabharat today,” Surjewala said.
Also later, he called Prime Minister Narendra Modi an ‘Asura’. “Who is not filled with compassion, who does not love the people? He is not a ruler, he is an asura. The one who does not love the farmer, the laborer, and the youth,” he was quoted as saying.
The comments by the Congress leader were strongly condemned by the BJP leaders and members. BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala slammed the Congress leader saying, “Congress has crossed all its limits. Randeep Surjewala, who calls ‘Afzal Guru’ ‘Afzal guru ji’, and his party members call ‘Osama’ ‘Osama ji’, has started abusing Indian voters. Congress party says on foreign land that democracy has died and ‘Bharat Mata’ has been murdered.”
“Now Randeep Surjewala has said that voters who vote have the nature of demons. So now he’s calling at least 23 crores, who vote BJP as the demon. Citizens are a form of God in democracy, but Congress is calling them demons. This shows that Congress is living in which arrogance, they abuse the position of PM, OBC, democratic institutions, and now they have abused the citizens,” he added.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, too, hit out at the Congress leader for his attempt to dehumanize the BJP supporters.
