‘PM distorting facts, using objectionable language’ : Anand Sharma

Nov 29, 2017, 07:13 IST

AHMEDABAD: Anand Sharma, former union minister in the UPA government, visited Ahmedabad on Tuesday and held meetings with Congress party workers ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in the state. Talking to journalists, Sharma alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been distorting facts and using ‘objectionable language’ while campaigning in Gujarat.

He also alleged that the central government doesn’t want to discuss issues, whether they be the Rafale deal or impact of demonetization and allegations against kin of the leaders. “They are stalling the winter session of Parliament,” Sharma alleged.

“It is painful to see the Prime Minister of the country using such language while campaigning. He says that he is the son of the soil — we have no objection to that —but he says how can the opposition challenge him in Gujarat? Why shouldn’t we? He goes to different states and abuses leaders. We don’t abuse him. We question him and seek answers,” Sharma said.

Sharma said that the PM keeps talking about injustice to Gujarat but he is distorting facts. “It was Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who laid the foundation of Narmada dam. Whether it be educational institutions such as IIM-A, NID or Amul came into being during Congress rule,” Sharma said.

He further said that he would give a list in Surat on Tuesday to expose Modi’s lies. “There is nothing wrong in narrating one’s success but no one, prior to the current PM, has discredited all his predecessors,” Sharma said. He added that the central government had completely ignored Indira Gandhi’s centenary celebrations.

Sharma further said that moves like demonetization have not yielded promised results. Goals such as identifying black money and stopping counterfeit currency have not been achieved. He added that the demonetization crippled the MSME sector which provides 90% of India’s jobs. “Nearly 33% of the jobs lost due to demonetization included those in Gujarat cities such as Morbi, Vapi and Surat,” Sharma said.

He also said that the GST is a wrong model. “The PM claims that the Congress had agreed to it,” Sharma said. “I was associated with the talks with other leaders. We tried to implement the for GST for seven years but at that time, Narendra Modi as Gujarat CM opposed it.”

Sharma further said that the Congress had asked the NDA to involve petroleum, alcohol and real estate but Modi kept 45% of the revenue outside the purview. “They also did not adhere to the promised maximum rate of 18%. I challenge the PM or the finance minister to a public debate over it,” Sharma said.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/pm-distorting-facts-using-objectionable-language/articleshow/61841373.cms