New Delhi [India], April 19 (ANI): Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday strongly criticised the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address, saying that he turned an official address to the nation into a political speech, 'full of mudslinging and outright lies.'

'A desperate and frustrated PM with nothing meaningful to show for the last 12 years, turned an official address to the nation, into a political speech, full of mudslinging, and outright lies,' Kharge said in a post on X.

He said the model code of conduct is already in place and 'it was very clear how PM Modi misused official machinery to attack his opponents. This is a travesty of democracy and the Constitution of India'.

https://x.com/kharge/status/2045543427056836836

He said the 'Prime Minister mentioned Congress 59 times and women barely a few times. That tells the country everything about his priorities. Women are not the BJP's priority. Congress is, because Congress stands on the right side of history. Congress has always supported women's reservation'.

Kharge said the Congress passed the Women's Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha in 2010 so that it would not lapse. 'The BJP could not get that Bill passed in the Lok Sabha. They brought another Bill in 2023, and the Congress Party supported that too. That Bill still exists. In fact, it was notified on 16th April, while the Lok Sabha was discussing these delimitation Constitutional Amendment Bills. This was done by the same Prime Minister. The fact that it took the BJP 3 years to notify their own bill shows their commitment to India's Naari Shakti,' the Congress leader said.

'Modi ji should stop lying to the nation. He should implement 33% reservation for women in the existing 543 Lok Sabha seats under the 2023 law. Do not deny women their due representation now,' he said.

'Stop mixing up the delimitation bills, i.e, the 3 Constitution Amendment Bills, with the Women's Reservation Bill. Stop lying to the nation that this was an amendment to the Women's Reservation Bill - the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. It was NOT. This was purely a delimitation Bill, brought in to create further division and redraw the electoral map in a manner that can only benefit the BJP,' Kharge said in his post.

He further demanded that PM Modi should apologise to 140 crore Indians.

'Congress has always been pro-reform. Congress transformed Indian agriculture through the Green Revolution, strengthened dairy development through the White Revolution, created our Space sector, made India a Nuclear power, liberalised the economy in 1991, 60 crore Aadhaar cards were distributed before Modi ji took office. Congress passed RTI, RTE, Food Security Act, MGNREGA - which Modi ji repealed,' he said.

'We passed some of the most important pro-women laws in Indian history - from the Hindu Code Bills, which your ideological forefathers opposed, to workplace sexual harassment laws, domestic violence bills, to criminal law reforms after the recommendations of the Justice Verma Committee,' Kharge said.

The Congress president accused the BJP of being anti-women in both action and attitude.'They have no answers for Hathras. They have no answers for Unnao. They have no answers for the treatment of Haryana's women wrestlers. They have shielded rapists within their own party. They released the rapists in the Bilkis Bano case. They have garlanded criminals and rapists,' Kharge alleged, adding that the NCRB data itself shows that crimes against women are highest in BJP-ruled states.

After 12-and-a-half years in power, in the middle of an international crisis, high inflation, a deteriorating economy, a sliding rupee, and deep public distress, the Prime Minister had nothing to offer the nation except a political speech, he said.

'Even with the Model Code of Conduct in place, he chose to blame the Opposition, especially Congress, for his own failures, his own betrayal, and his own apathy,' Kharge said.

'Lastly, BJP-RSS divides the nation. RSS supported the British against Indians and wrote mercy petitions to them. Every Indian knows that Modi Ji's political masters, the RSS, are against WOMEN. They believe in Manusmiti, which encourages DIVISION, and NOT the Constitution of India,' Kharge said. (ANI)