Shah's black money statement has shown PM Modi's 'rank opportunism': Congress

The Congress on Thursday asserted that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah's statement with regard to the black money issue has proved to the nation the 'rank opportunism' of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded an apology for his 'political gimmickry'.

The Congress was reacting to an interview that Shah gave a media agency, in which he is reported to have said that the Prime Minister's proclamation of depositing Rs. 15 lakh of black money in the account of every Indian was a 'political jumla'.

"The statement with regard to 'black money' by BJP president Amit Shah has shown the true face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi: his rank political opportunism and the falsehood perpetuated on the people of India in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections," Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala told ANI.

"We demand that Prime Minister Modi come forward and tender an unconditional apology to the people of India for this betrayal of faith. We also demand that he clarify top people as to how many such election gimmickry have they played upon the nation," he added.

Surjewala further criticised Shah's statement with regard to the Delhi elections, asserting that the result in the national capital was a reflection on the Prime Minister.

"Amit Shah stating that the result of the Delhi elections is not a reflection on Prime Minister Modi is laughable. It reflects a defeatist mindset of a party that has lost the elections despite many gimmicks played upon the people of Delhi," he said.

The Congress leader also dismissed a surge of political leaders across party lines, including Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat, offering support to Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal as a 'fashionable trend'.

"This has become a fashionable trend. I would request all such political parties - they are welcome to participate in the greatest festival of democracy but they should not do so by sitting in their respective states," he added.

The high-decibel election pitch for the Delhi Assembly polls came to an end on Thursday evening with the leaders of various political parties, including the BJP, AAP and the Congress, making their last-ditch efforts to woo the electorate in the national capital.

The polls, which are believed to be a direct fight between the BJP and AAP, have also witnessed a fractiously divided support base for the two parties.

A total of 673 candidates are in the fray for the 70-member Delhi Assembly. Delhi goes to polls on February 7, while the results will be declared on February 10.