Union petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri took a dig at the INDIA Alliance, stating that the bloc has failed to even name a convenor. Puri told reporters in Bengaluru on Tuesday that though the alliance proposed the names of several leaders as the Prime Ministerial candidate, they could not even discuss the seat-sharing arrangement.
The minister, who was in Karnataka for the ongoing Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra – a campaign to reach out to the beneficiaries of the central schemes, said, "I mean The (opposition) alliance would have some hope of being a cohesive alliance provided they could hold talks on seat sharing. But here is a hilarious situation where they are unable even to pick a convener."
"You cannot break what does not exist," mocked Puri, on allegations of BJP trying to weaken the INDIA alliance.
When asked about the Congress’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Puri dared the Congress to deliver justice to 1984 riot victims before talking about justice. "If someone finds time in between their overseas holidays to do this yatra, I am happy for it. With the yatra, they will stand exposed as the BJP, through Viksit Bharat Sankalpa Yatra, is placing facts and figures before the people, especially the beneficiaries," said Puri.
Referring to Congress leaders alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was taking the Maldives issue 'personally', and the Congress barbs on the election issues, like price rise and economy to corner the BJP, Puri said, "When people have declining political fortunes, their language and behavior starts to border on the desperate. So, anything that any leader in the Congress says take it with a pinch of salt. I say develop a sense of humor because they make the most outlandish statements. They are in the company of so called global experts who were prophesising that India's economy will only grow by five percent. Knowing the last quarter the growth was 7.6%, I can only smile. Now, why do you start criticisng India whenever you leave the shores of the country? Have you got any inferiority complex that you are in Indian or is it some other connection which makes you unsure?"
