Mumbai: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram Saturday claimed that his party and the allies have a significant lead over the BJP-led NDA at the end of the first three phases of Lok Sabha polls, wherein voting has taken place in 303 constituencies.
The former Union minister’s remarks come a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed in Mumbai that the Congress won’t get even 50 seats in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing a press conference here, Chidambaram said, “I am prepared to stick my neck out and make a prediction on the results of the first three phases.” He also claimed that the Congress is “level” with the BJP. “That means the Congress has gained significantly and, correspondingly the BJP has suffered losses.
As an alliance, the Congress and its allies have a significant lead over the BJP and its allies. Mark the word ‘significant’. The unfinished task is to retain the initiative, press forward and ensure the lead over BJP is extended,” he said. When asked about Modi’s remarks about Congress not getting even 50 seats, Chidambaram said, “One cant stop anybody from dreaming. Modi dreams not only when he is asleep, but also when he is awake.”
The Rajya Sabha member from Maharashtra said, “The narrative of security and pseudo-nationalism is a false narrative. Who secured the nation in three wars that were fought against Pakistan in 1947, 1965 and 1971. India is safe because it has a professional Army, Navy and Air Force, and not because one person boasts of a 56-inch chest.”
Chidambaram said people have voted against the “twin disasters of demonetisation and flawed GST”. Responding to questions, he said demonetisation was a “big scandal”, which will be probed after the change in the government.
“The decision was taken to help convert black money into white. Unaccounted money has become accounted due to note-ban,” he said. To a question about the remarks by BJP’s Bhopal Lok Sabha seat candidate Pragya Singh Thakur on late IPS officer Hemant Karkare, he said the comments were “condemnable”.
“Karkare was a celebrated police officer of Maharashtra who was martyred in the 26/11 attacks,” the former minister said. (PTI)
