When the opposition, however, fractured, gathered in Patna this weekend to put up a face of unity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a state visit to the United States. But on Tuesday, the Prime Minister lashed out at the opposition — one party at a time – in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh in his first political interaction since the US visit.

Calling the Patna huddle a mere ‘photo op’, something which Home Minister Amit Shah also alleged, Modi resurrected the past and the scams in which those parties were alleged to be involved. “If you know their history, you will get to know that together they constitute more than Rs 20 lakh crore (of scams)”.

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Taking a potshot at the Congress, whose leader Rahul Gandhi had trained guns at the Prime Minister repeatedly, Modi said, “The Congress alone has indulged in corruption that amounts to few lakh crores.” Three days after the opposition tried to put up a unified face, Modi’s clear words from Madhya Pradesh were, “The opposition is a guarantee of corruption”.

OF CONG, RJD, NCP, TMC & DMK

Reminding people of one scam after another of the UPA-2 era, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) best poll campaigner was at his brutal best. “Commonwealth scam, coal scam, 2G scam…There was not one sector that was left behind by the Congress when it came to corruption,” he said.

The CWG scam was linked to then Delhi Chief Minister and Congress leader Sheila Dikshit, while the coal scam probe led the opposition to accuse then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. The 2G spectrum case was a political scandal in which politicians and private officials of the United Progressive Alliance coalition government were in the dock. The CAG had then dubbed it to be a scam worth Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

Modi recounted all those scams, while making the BJP cadre battle-ready. He didn’t stop at the Congress alone.

Prime Minister put out a parallel between them and his party – the BJP. While PM Modi referred to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav’s infamous fodder scam for which he was even jailed, he also didn’t fail to mention Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). He also mentioned the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK) disproportionate assets case. While referring to the NCP, he talked about the Maharashtra State Cooperative bank scam in which the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had revealed that a firm related to the scam was linked to Ajit Pawar, then deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, and Sunetra Ajit Pawar (his wife).

Hitting out at Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC), a key constituent of the opposition, PM Modi mentioned the coal scam where many senior functionaries of the TMC are being probed. Referring to infamous the Rose Valley scam, the PM brought back dark memories for many common people who lost their life’s savings.

In 2017, present TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay was arrested in connection to the scam by the CBI. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had arrested then TMC MP Tapas Pal in connection with the same case. The Rose Valley Group has been accused of duping investors of about Rs 17,000 crore in different states.

‘JUGALBANDI OF GOING TO PRISON’

Modi said, “I hear the opposition is talking about guarantee…Here, I also want to give a guarantee to everyone that action will be taken against all scamsters”.

Without naming, the Prime Minister added, “Jisne deshko loot hai, uska hisab hoke rahega (Those who have robbed this country will face justice)”.

In a not-so-subtle attack, Modi said they (the opposition) are indulging in “jugalbandi” in the prospect of going to prison.

The Prime Minister, who was in his fiery avatar today, announced that voters should vote for the constituents of the opposition alliance, only if they are concerned about the “sons and daughters” from those parties. Attacking ‘parivarvad’ once again, he said, “But if you are concerned about your sons and daughters, vote for the BJP.”

More than a dozen political parties gathered at Patna on Friday to work together to oust Modi’s BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. However, imminent contradictions and war of words broke out by the time the high optics meeting came to an end. They have decided another venue — Shimla — to huddle and take their agenda forward.