Thankfully, they aren't saying 600 paar: Mallikarjun Kharge on BJP's 400-paar target

Mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion that the NDA's tally is to get "400 paar (400-plus)" seats in the ongoing Lok Sabha election, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge Wednesday said thankfully he is not talking about "600 paar" because there are only 543 parliamentary seats.

Addressing a rally at Sarai Umar in the Harchandpur Assembly segment in Raebareli, Kharge also said he has signed all the "promises made by our party" and they will be fulfilled if the INDIA bloc forms the government. "It's not like 'Modi ki guarantee' which is never fulfilled."

Launching an attack on the PM and alleging his government is "cut off from the poor", and is working just for the interest of a handful of industrialists, Kharge said people will bid goodbye to this dispensation and the Opposition coalition will come to power after the results are announced in the first week of June.

"Modi and the BJP have been talking about 400-paar. Fortunately, they are not speaking about 600 paar as there is a Constitutional limit on the strength of the Lok Sabha at 543 seats," Kharge said.

The Congress president reiterated that if the INDIA bloc is voted to power, it will double the quantity of free ration provided by the BJP government to the poor. He was referring to the Modi government scheme of providing five kg ration to the poor every month. "The Congress brought the Food Security Act, you (PM Modi) did nothing. You are giving five kg free ration, if the INDIA bloc forms government, we will give 10 kg ration to the poor."

Kharge also taunted the PM saying "Bhago mat (don't flee)," in reference to PM Modi making fun of Rahul Gandhi choosing to contest from Raebareli instead of Amethi, which he lost to the BJP's Smriti Irani in 2019. The fact is that Modi himself ran away from Gujarat and chose Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to contest the poll, Kharge said.

Campaigning for Rahul Gandhi, Kharge said Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi ushered in development in Raebareli, and asked the Modi government to list a single work done in Raebareli and Amethi. He said Modi had promised to double the income of farmers and provide 2 crore jobs to unemployed youths and asked the crowd "have these been fulfilled?"

The Congress president said after coming to power, the Opposition coalition government would fill 30 lakh vacancies in government departments and public sector undertakings, of which half would be for weaker sections. He also made light of the 'Modi hai to mumkin hai (Modi makes it possible)' slogan of the BJP, saying "it is mumkin (possible) that prices of petrol, diesel and fertiliser will be further increased".

Kharge reiterated his party's promises of raising MGNREGA daily remuneration to Rs 400 and waiving off loans of small farmers as the UPA government did by writing off Rs 72,000-crore worth of farmers' loans.

He also talked about providing Rs 8,500 per month, translating into Rs 1 lakh per annum, to elderly women of the poor families, and said some BJP leaders are talking about changing the Constitution. "It's because of this Constitution that Modi is sitting on the top post, and which provides security to the poor."

Polling in Raebareli is scheduled in the fifth phase on 20 May. Rahul Gandhi is pitted against the BJP's Dinesh Pratap Singh and others from the seat.