BJP MP and former union minister Ravi Shankar on Wednesday criticised the Congress for organising Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Patna, and asked why the grand old party was holding such an event there after 85 years.
“Why did it take so long for the Congress to go to Patna at Sadaqat Ashram, the place of historical importance they ignored completely,” wondered the BJP leader, who represents the constituency in Parliament, during a press conference at the party headquarters here.
They are organising the CWC meeting there to get more seats to contest from their alliance partners in the upcoming state assembly elections, the BJP MP said.
“People in the RJD are not happy with Rahul Gandhi being given more importance in the alliance,” he said, adding that the Congress’ trying to secure more seats is resulting in problems in the RJD camp.
“They (the Congress leaders) are keeping Tejashwi Yadav in the dark, as they are not declaring him the alliance’s chief ministerial candidate,” he said.
Ravi Shankar also attacked the Congress for allegedly humiliating Bihar and its people on various occasions and said the voters in the state won’t forgive them and hence will vote and elect the NDA once again.
Responding to Rahul Gandhi’s charge that unemployment has been increasing in the country as the Narendra Modi government was not doing enough to deal with the issue, the BJP MP said that from September 2017 to May 2025, over eight crore people got employment, and this is proved by the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) data.
Also, a number of development projects, be it roads or something else, the nation is progressing as these projects provide job opportunities across the country.
He also asked Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge if he would condemn Congress supporters abusing Prime Minister Modi’s mother a few weeks ago from the CWC platform in Patna.
Meanwhile, Kharge accused the Modi government of failing on multiple fronts — domestic governance, economic management, international diplomacy, and democratic integrity.
Kharge launched a blistering attack on the Centre during the opening session of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting at Patna’s historic Sadaqat Ashram.
Calling Sadaqat Ashram the focal point of the freedom movement, Kharge said the choice of venue underscored the Congress’ determination to defend India’s constitutional values.
“This CWC meeting is extremely important. We are meeting at a time when India is going through a very challenging and worrying period at both the international and national levels,” he said.