‘Abusing PM Modi part of Congress DNA’: Sitharaman on Opposition’s ‘maun ki baat’ jab

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday hit out at the Congress on a host of issues, including Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s “Modi a poisonous snake” remark. Sitharaman said: “Abusing the prime minister is part of the Congress DNA”.

“Abusing the PM is in Congress’s DNA. On one hand, Rahul Gandhi talks about opening a love shop, while on the other hand, his party president calls PM Modi a poisonous snake. The more the Congress abuses PM Modi, the more strongly the public will stand with him. Whenever Congress feels that they cannot defeat anyone, they shower abuse over him in the same manner”, Sitharaman said.

The finance minister further countered the grand old party’s criticism of Mann ki Baat, saying that there’s no politics in ‘Mann Ki Baat’, and Modi speaks to people like a ‘pradhan sevak’ and not a prime minister.

“There is no politics in Mann Ki Baat… There is positivity in the spirit of Mann ki Baat. If the Congress is obsessed with talking about the agenda set by its first family, it’s up to the party,” she said.

When reporters asked her about wrestlers protesting for the last 8 days at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, Sitharaman said, “If you listen to all the episodes of PM’s Mann Ki Baat, he has raised every issue. It is not a matter of any one class, but every important issue has been discussed.”

Earlier in the day, the Congress took a swipe at Modi over his 100th ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio broadcast, saying there was much fanfare in the run-up to the episode but it was “maun ki baat (silence)” on critical issues such as the border dispute with China, stock manipulation allegations against the Adani Group, “increasing” economic inequalities and the wrestlers’ protest.