The ruling BJP on Monday called the 'Bharat Bandh' by the Congress and several other parties as an attempt to spread rumour and confusion among the masses and said people will "puncture the grand alliance balloon" floated by the main opposition party.
Union minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi took on the Congress, saying it is shedding crocodile tears on price rise, adding the party has been a "history-sheeter" on the issue.
He accused the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress party of trying to create a "negative atmosphere" in the country since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in May 2014, and wondered if some "invisible hand" gave "supari" (contract) to destroy the progress India has made.
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"The Congress is a cruise of corruption and whichever party joins it will sink with it," he said, adding this is the reason several opposition parties have kept away from the 'Bharat Bandh' call given by the opposition party.
When Modi took over in May 2014 inflation hovered around 11 per cent and he has now brought it down to around four per cent with his policies and honest work, Naqvi said, expressing the hope that it will come down further.
The Congress and several parties have given a call for 'Bharat Bandh' to protest the rise in the prices of petrol and diesel.
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"Through violence and anarchy it is trying to spread rumour and confusion among the masses," Naqvi said.
Hatred being spread in country under Modi's rule: Rahul
Meanwhile, Congress president Rahul Gandhi alleged on Monday that hatred was being spread and the country is being divided under the rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He also said that a united opposition will defeat the BJP in the next Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing a protest rally at Ramlila grounds in Delhi organised by the Congress and joined by other opposition parties over fuel price hike, Gandhi questioned the silence of PM Modi on fuel prices and the Rafale fighter jet deal.
Taking a dig at Modi, he said the PM often says that what has happened in the last four years of his rule has not happened in 70 years is actually true.
"Hatred is being spread, one Indian is fighting the other, the country is being divided," he said.
