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At CWC meet, Rahul calls Congress role as 'Voice of India', Manmohan slams Modi says 'constant self-praise and jumlas can't replace Policy making'

By FnF Correspondent | PUBLISHED: 22, Jul 2018, 12:58 pm IST | UPDATED: 22, Jul 2018, 13:32 pm IST

At CWC meet, Rahul calls Congress role as 'Voice of India', Manmohan slams Modi says 'constant self-praise and jumlas can't replace Policy making' New Delhi: The Congress party's highest decision-making body -- the Working Committee -- is meeting today amid the afterglow of Rahul Gandhi's no-holds barred attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, followed by an unscripted hug and wink that many are still talking about.

While the high-on-optics show in Lok Sabha is seen as one that flustered the BJP, the Congress now has the tougher task of negotiating a way through ambitious allies and non-aligned parties to craft a stable front against the BJP for next year's general elections.

"We are committed to make alliances work and we are all with him (Rahul Gandhi) in this endeavour. We have to rescue our people from a dangerous regime that is compromising the democracy of India," Sonia Gandhi said in her address to the members.

During Friday's debate, the BJP's goal was to expose what it said were "divisions" within the opposition. More than eight hours after the surprise hug by Rahul Gandhi, PM Modi said that the Congress was an unreliable ally and a bully. "Look what happened to people who tried to look you in the eye. They were humiliated...Charan Singh, Sardar Patel, MorarjiDesai, Chandra Shekhar, Sharad Pawar..."
 
Mr Gandhi has already indicated that his party will be working with opposition parties and negotiations are on to craft out state-specific alliances. The CWC is expected to give him a go-ahead in the matter, said sources in the Congress. Speaking at the CWC meeting P Chidambaram called for the broadest political alliance to defeat the BJP-led NDA.

In his address today, the Congress president, who took charge after 20 years of his mother Sonia Gandhi's leadership, reminded the members of the party's role as the "voice of India" and its responsibility of the "present and future".

Summing up the proceedings in a series his tweets, senior party leader Ranjit Surjewala said Mr Gandhi underscored the role of the Congress amid what he called "BJP attacks" on "institutions, dalits, tribals, backwards, minorities & poor".

Modi had said that India is now the fastest growing large economy of the world with strong fundamentals to propel further growth. He added that when he came to power things were terrible. “We were a part of the fragile five economies. Even the budget figures were suspicious," he said.

Singh had earlier blamed the Narendra Modi government for its “disastrous policies” and “economic mismanagement”. He said the country was facing crises that were avoidable.

He attacked the government over a series of banking frauds, saying the money swindled almost quadrupled from Rs 28,416 crore in September 2013 to Rs 1.11 lakh crore in September 2017. “It pains me to see how rather than standing up to all these challenges, the government’s response has been to stifle dissent when deficiencies are pointed out,” he had said.

On Sunday, Singh also cast doubts over the Centre’s claim that it would double farming income by the year 2022, saying that to achieve that agricultural growth rate would have to be 14 per cent, which is nowhere in sight. He called it a hollow assurance.

Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who also addressed the gathering, "rejects the culture of constant self-praise & jumlas of PM as against solid policy framework for driving the engine of growth", Mr Surjewala tweeted.

A well-known economist, Dr Singh also pointed out that the government's claim of doubling farm income by 2022 will 'require an Agri Growth Rate of 14%, which is nowhere in sight", Mr Surjewala tweeted.

Sonia Gandhi, Mr Surjewala tweeted, pointed out that rhetoric of PM Modi "shows his desperation, reflecting that reverse countdown of Modi Govt has begun".

On Friday, PM Modi had dwelt long on the theme of Congress arrogance. He had even reminded Sonia Gandhi of her comment in 1999, when the Congress moved a no-confidence motion against the Atal Behari Vajpayee-led NDA government: "We have 272 and more are coming."