‘Diverting from real issues, annoyed as INDIA bloc growing’: Congress on BJP’s ‘Modi Ka Parivar’

PTI, Mar 4, 2024, 6:38 PM IST

New Delhi: The Congress on Monday took a swipe at the BJP over its campaign of leaders suffixing their names on social media profiles with ”Modi Ka Parivar”, saying MPs such as Ajay Mishra Teni and Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh were his ”real family”.

The BJP on Monday rallied around Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its leaders suffixed their names on social media profiles with ”Modi Ka Parivar”, a day after RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav took a jibe at him for having no family.

Asked about the BJP’s campaign, Congress general secretary organisation K C Venugopal told reporters, ”You could see the enthusiasm among the public in Patna yesterday. Everyday the INDIA bloc is growing, that is why the BJP people are annoyed.”

Later, in a post on X, Venugopal said, ”Do the women of Manipur find a place in Modi ka Parivar? Will the PM call the farmers protesting on the borders of Delhi his Parivar? What about the unemployed youth forced to commit suicide everyday – why won’t the PM call them his Parivar?”

”The reality is, this government only works for the PM’s cronies, protects those accused of heinous crimes and inducts leaders they themselves labelled as corrupt. That is #ModiKaAsliParivar,” he said.

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh took a dig at the BJP, saying ”now they cannot talk about parivarvad (nepotism)”.

Congress’ media department head Pawan Khera said, ”Waiting for Upendra Rawat, Pawan Singh & Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to add Modi Ka Pariwar to their bio.” Later, Khera shared a screenshot the social media bio of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh who had suffixed ‘Modi Ka Parivar’. ”Modi Ka Pariwar welcomes Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh,” Khera said in a post on X.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also shared screenshots of the social media accounts of Ajay Mishra Teni and Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, both of whom had suffixed ”Modi Ka Parivar’.

”Kisano ki hatya, mahilaon par atyachar, yehi hai Modi ka asli parivar (killings of farmers, atrocities against women, this is Modi’s real family),” he said in an apparent reference to allegations against Teni’s son of mowing down of farmers in 2021 and of sexual harassment against Singh. Ramesh used the hashtag ‘Modi ka asli parivar’.

Posting names of the BJP leaders accused in sexual harassment cases and economic offenders, former Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister TS Singhdeo said, ”Kafi kukhyat (notorious) aur khoonkhar (deadly), ye hai ‘Modi Ka Parivar.” Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari said the BJP’s principles keep changing.

”Earlier, they used to say that the country comes first, then the party and then the leader. Earlier, it was the Sangh Parivar, now it is the Modi Parivar. These are all misleading things, they should write in their profiles why there is no employment, why MSP guarantee is not given to the farmers, Modi should give guarantee that he will bring back the black money,” he said.

They are indulging in media management using money power, Patwari said.

Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman, and BJP chief JP Nadda were joined by party members from across the country in declaring themselves as ”Modi Ka Parivar” (Modi’s family)” on their social media accounts, as the ruling party launched a sharp counter attack on the opposition.

Many Modi-supporting social media users also made the same change on their pages.

Sudhanshu Trivedi, a BJP national spokesperson, told reporters that opposition parties have been launching personal attacks against Modi and making such ”petty” remarks against him for the past 16-17 years.

The BJP’s show of solidarity around its top leader in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections is reminiscent of a similar campaign the party had mounted prior to the 2019 general elections with the ”Main Bhi Chowkidar” addition to their names to take on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ”Chowkidar Chor Hai” dig at Modi.