The BJP today demanded an apology from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi following Mr. Kharge’s advice that the party’s state units should make only those promises that are fiscally feasible. Briefing the media in New Delhi today, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said that, for the first time, Congress has acknowledged misleading the public. He said that Congress-led governments in Karnataka, Telangana, and Himachal Pradesh are facing financial hardships in fulfilling the guarantees offered to the people. Recalling the ‘Garibi Hatao’ slogan given by Indira Gandhi during the 1971 polls, Mr. Prasad criticised Congress, saying it has a history of fooling voters with false promises.

He said that, unlike Congress, the BJP makes only those promises that are guided by fiscal prudence. Mr. Prasad said that, whether it is the transfer of six thousand rupees annually to 11 crore farmers or providing free grains to 80 crore people, the BJP has been fulfilling these commitments.