Congress on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of running away from real issues and said that the lead campaigner of BJP likes "speaking more than working".
It also alleged that the BJP-led central government splurged heavily on advertisements before the Model Code of Conduct came into force.
I"The campaign for 2019 is intensifying. Our senior leaders are involved in it. Prime Minister Modi, who is the lead campaigner of the ruling party, also happens to be a controversial and widely-talked about Prime Minister in the history of India. He likes speaking more than working. There is no competition of ours with their vision, the way of work and their means," senior Congress leader Anand Sharma told a press conference here.
He said, "In six weeks starting January 15..., Rs 4,000 crore of public money was spent only on advertisements. After the Model Code of Conduct came into implementation, the government advertisements have stopped."
Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and BSP supremo Mayawati had made a similar charge against the Centre.
Sharma said, "More than 90 per cent of resources that will be used in these elections will be used by BJP. BJP is the biggest advertiser in the country and has left even the leading corporates behind."
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Attacking Prime Minister Modi, he said, "In a democracy, Prime Ministers are not chosen on the basis of physical prowess. A government's strength is about their vision, policies and achievements...He should come to real issues. In these elections, he has to answer about employment, farmer issues and Congress will clearly, during its campaign, demand accountability from Narendra Modi."
The Congress leader said, "Only PM Modi has a mentality that he takes all the credit. The armed forces are of the country and do not belong to any political party. Our soldiers do not lay down their lives for votes. It is wrong to say that Prime Minister Modi went inside someone's home and destroyed it. This kind of gesture does not suit the Prime Minister."
Accusing the government of destroying the country's economy, Sharma said, "The Prime Minister is in the habit of making tall claims and false claims. He will never do any press conference and won't take questions. The Indian economy has suffered because of reckless decisions of the Prime Minister."
He said, "BJP has dented the national data credibility. If the government itself is fudging the data then what should be done? Our suggestion to the PM is to stop asking for votes and apologise to the country for he has done."
He also claimed that BJP is only trying to play with people's emotions.