'Need to bust myths': INDIA discusses the Modi challenge

Mumbai Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi told the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) meeting on Friday that there were three myths about Prime Minister Narendra Modi that needed to be busted – incorruptible, improving India’s global standing and welfare of backward and Dalit groups – underlining the grouping’s tough challenge of taking on the popular incumbent in the 2024 general elections.

- Saubhadra Chatterji

At the day-long meeting of the Opposition bloc in Mumbai, a number of leaders discussed key issues that could be taken up before the elections and stressed on the need to get poll-ready quickly. Many parties pushed for urgent election preparations, saying that time was running out.

Addressing the leaders, Gandhi alleged that a myth was created that Modi was incorruptible and that his government had a clean image, said people aware of developments. The Congress leader tried to argue that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government mastered the art of invisible corruption, offering the example of the Rafale controversy. “They even manipulate the GDP figures,” Gandhi alleged.

He also said that a number of malpractices were flagged by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and that the fresh allegations on the Adani Group was a glaring example of how the government permitted illegal activities, said the people cited above.

Gandhi told INDIA leaders that the second myth was that the current regime had lifted India’s image on global platforms, arguing that the country’s status took a beating instead. “You will notice that wherever he goes, people come out to protest against his government,” Gandhi said, according to the people cited above. He cited other incidents such as remarks of global leaders and articles in international publications to drive home his point.