Ahmedabad:

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday claimed that the Indian bloc is no longer united over major differences on key issues and said Congress allies opposed Rahul Gandhi’s candidacy for Wayana in Kerala German seat.

Ms Sitharaman recalled Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s remarks about Mr Gandhi’s candidacy and spoke of Wayanad, wife of Communist Party of India leader D Raja (Wayanad) nomination.

“For the past 10-15 days, before his (Gandhi’s) nomination was announced, his alliance partners have been campaigning against him. CPI leader D Raja’s wife is contesting from Wayanad even though the party is Alliance of partners of the Independent Party of India,” the Union Minister said at a press conference.

Responding to a query on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks that the Congress’s alliance partners opposed Rahul Gandhi’s nomination from Wayanad, she said the “Sahabzad of the Congress” would be Lose Wayanad and will have to look for safer seats later.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi, while addressing a campaign rally in Nanded, Maharashtra, also said that the Congress party had accepted its defeat even before the results of the Lok Sabha polls were announced.

“Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan raised questions over Wayanad’s nomination of Gandhi. The chief minister also said that Gandhi had never raised the issues of Wayanad and Kerala in the Assembly in the past five years ,” Ms. Sitharaman said.

Targeting Mr Gandhi, she said the Congress candidate in Wayanad refused to carry his party flag.

“Understanding that there are divisions in the Indian Independence Alliance and Rahul Gandhi does not have much support, we must note one thing. Congress candidate does not want to hoist party flag in rallies as Muslim League opposes him, says you can participate competition but the flag will be ours,” Ms Sitharaman added.

She claimed that the Congress had abandoned its party flag to contest the elections.

“When he (Rahul) cannot even save the (party) flag, can these people who have sworn on the Constitution save the country?” Ms Sitharaman asked.

She said the Congress-affiliated INDI alliance was not united and this was seen in different states as well as in the current elections.

When asked about Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s criticism of DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Sanatan Dharma remarks, Ms Sitharaman said: “It is no longer a fact that the opposition is united in the INDI alliance.”

She said major divisions had emerged within the INDI coalition, also on key issues.

“So the alliance is not yet formed, they are just showing it. The only thing they are talking about on a common platform is how to get rid of Modi. They don’t care about how to take the country forward, what is their advice to Modi for the progress of the country, and Their plans for a developed India in 2047,” Ms Sitharaman said.

She claimed that charges were leveled against them by INDI alliance leaders in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere.

Ms Sitharaman also targeted All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, saying his political remarks were always indecent.

On the Opposition parties questioning the credibility of electronic voting machines (EVMs), Ms Sitharaman said it was no longer a topic worthy of discussion.

“Even the Election Commission has proven time and again that EVMs cannot be hacked. The Chief Election Commissioner has said this is a settled case… This has been proven time and time again,” she said.

Questioning the Congress’s “hypocrisy” on the EVM issue, Ms Sitharaman said: “When (the poll results) go in favor of the Congress, (they say) I will accept EVM, but when (the poll results) go in favor of the people of India I’ll take EVM when the party “says it’s hacked… people don’t take them seriously when they do it”.

Asked about opposition claims that the saffron party would not win more than 150 seats, she said the opposition was “extremely scared” of the BJP returning to power with an absolute majority.

“So they have started a double campaign – making up the narrative that the PPP will not get more than 150 seats to confuse people, (but the fact is) they (the opposition parties) may not get more than 100 seats.

“But look at their audacity. In any case, people will not be confused by this narrative,” Ms Sitharaman added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)