Fake News Won’t Get Congress To Power: Amit Shah

New Delhi: In a scathing attack on Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, BJP chief Amit Shah on Wednesday described him as a "tragedy manufacturer" and condemned him for "misleading" the nation on demonetisation.

Amid a war of words on the first anniversary of the Centre's demonetisation decision, Shah took to Twitter to attack the Congress and its leaders, including Rahul Gandhi. "The BJP strongly condemns Rahul Gandhi for trying to mislead the nation on the issue of demonetisation," he said in a tweet. He also asked the Congress to stop shedding crocodile tears for the poor. "The lies of the Congress have been unmasked and it can no longer capture power by spreading fake news and fake images," the Bharatiya Janata Party chief said.

Shah's attack comes in the wake of Rahul Gandhi's tweet in which he used a photograph of an old man Nand Lal to attack demonetisation. A former Army man, Nand Lal, 80, had broken down last year after he was unable to withdraw his pension after waiting for hours at a bank branch in Gurugram. Shah said Nand Lal had lauded the "historic step" taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government to uproot corruption and black money. "It is deplorable how Rahul Gandhi believes in manufacturing tragedies, so much so that he is also using the poor of India to score cheap political points," he said.

Continuing his tirade against the Congress leader, Shah said the grand old party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi has become 'Incorrect News Congress'. "It has become the biggest source of fake news in India," he said. For the Congress and Rahul Gandhi, he said, the poor are the means behind which they hide their corrupt, elite and upper class nature. "Their use of photos to defame is not a new trick. For 15 long years, using a handful of photos, Rahul Gandhi and his party tried every trick in the book to pull down Gujarat," Shah said adding that they created an impression of Gujarat that never existed. Shah said the Congress had insulted six crore Gujaratis.

"They tried to make Gujarat a source of ridicule but time and again they got a befitting answer from the people of Gujarat," he said. He said Congressmen were happily tweeting photos of Karnataka Minister D.K. Shivkumar standing in a queue and withdrawing money from an ATM in the state. "After all, what happened, we all know... hundreds of crores have been found in the properties of D.K. Shivkumar. Rahul Gandhi should share that photo as well," he said.

The BJP President alleged that Rahul Gandhi was unable to digest Narendra Modi's ever-rising popularity. "The Congress dirty tricks department is in hyperactive mode. But, 125 crore Indians know these carriers of fake news well and have time and again rejected their fake news and fake tears," he said.

IANS