New Delhi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday stepped up his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of “playing the victim card” and said he should apologise over issues including the NEET-UG paper leak, the Ram Mandir donation controversy and demonetisation.
Taking to X, Ramesh alleged that Modi repeatedly lashes out at former prime ministers and political rivals while presenting himself as the wronged side.
“The self-declared non-biological PM enjoys playing the victim card. He uses vile vitriol against his predecessors and political opponents. He very frequently peddles lies to defame them, not just in his public speeches but in Parliament itself. He unleashes an army of foul-mouthed abusers both in Parliament and outside and gives them full protection,” Ramesh wrote.
Ramesh also lashed out at the government over the alleged NEET-UG irregularities and the police response to student demonstrations. “The entire nation is wanting the PM to apologise for the trauma inflicted on lakhs of youth through his paper leak-ridden NTA and his Home Ministry-sanctioned brutality on student protestors,” he said.
He also targeted the Ram Mandir Trust, alleging irregularities in the handling of donations. “The entire nation is waiting for the PM to apologise for the ‘Chanda Chori Astha Dhoka’ by the Ram Mandir Trust, the establishment of which he had himself grandly announced in the Lok Sabha on February 5, 2020,” he said.
Referring to demonetisation, Ramesh repeated the Congress’ familiar criticism of the move and its economic fallout. “The entire nation is still expecting his apology for his Tughlakian notebandi of Nov 8, 2016, that destroyed crores of livelihoods and shuttered lakhs of MSMEs. The list is endless,” he said.
The Congress veteran’s remarks were in response to Modi’s video message on Friday, in which the Prime Minister said he had forgiven students accused of abusing him during a protest at Jantar Mantar and urged society to counsel rather than punish them.
Ramesh brushed aside the Prime Minister’s remarks as self-centred and said, “The PM said that he forgave our youth. This is an insult to the nation and to our youth which has suffered under his Government and is legitimately demanding an apology from him. The Prime Minister’s Instagram Sabhas are fooling no one.”