He was responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's repeated statements asking what the Congress had done for the country during its long rule after independence, while addressing an election rally in the Berasia constituency in Bhopal district ahead of the November 17 assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday credited vision and policies of governments headed by his party over decades for big dams, ushering in green and white revolutions, setting up premier engineering and medical institutions in the country.
He was responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's repeated statements asking what the Congress had done for the country during its long rule after independence, while addressing an election rally in the Berasia constituency in Bhopal district ahead of the November 17 assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh.
“The Constitution was saved and democracy preserved in the country only because of the Congress and he asks what the Congress has done for the nation? Green revolution for making the country self-reliant in foodgrains, white revolution for boosting milk production... dams like Bhakra Nangal and premier medical and engineering institutions are all existing in the country because of the Congress's policies and vision,” Kharge asserted.
The AICC president asked who had created Amul, the largest dairy cooperative brand operating in the country, while listing the achievements of successive Congress governments.
He described AIIMS, IITs, dams and big factories as temples of modern India.
The Congress president was addressing the rally on the last day of campaigning for the assembly polls, where his party is pitted against the BJP for power in the central state.
Kharge criticised Modi, the BJP's biggest vote getter, for campaigning for assembly polls in five states.
“Modi, who is the Prime Minister of the country, instead of doing his job is busy visiting small villages and towns to address election rallies. He is the PM and should first do that work properly instead of roaming on streets,” remarked the Congress leader.
Kharge said Modi has become the Prime Minister due to democracy in the country and people have got voting rights because of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar.
“Had they (BJP) got power at that time (after independence), they would have run the country by implementing Manu shastra (an ancient text) and denied access to Dalits to public roads and water sources," he said.
Kharge slammed the BJP over its 18-year rule in Madhya Pradesh and highlighted scams under its government's watch like Vyapam and alleged irregularities in the construction of Mahakal Lok in Ujjain and urged voters to throw the "corrupt" party out of power.
The Congress president hit out at the Modi government for not filling up 30 lakh vacant posts in the country despite promising two crore jobs.
Kharge reiterated his party's promises of conducting a caste survey, providing 27 per cent reservation to OBCs, Rs 1,500 a month financial assistance to women, 100 units of power free and a cooking gas cylinder at Rs 500, among others, if the Congress was voted to power in the state.
-With PTI Input