Congress doing drama to derive political mileage: Govt on OROP suicide

Chennai: Flaying Congress for criticising the NDA government's schemes, including the OROP for which pension funds were hiked, allegedly to derive political mileage, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday demanded to know what the UPA had done when it was in power for 10 years.

"Our government has come out with One Rank One Pension. UPA government has put pension amount of Rs 500 crore in the budget. Our government raised it to Rs 29,000 crore. That is the fact," Naidu told reporters here.

"What is it you have done when you were in power? Your party was in power from 2004 to 2014. For 10 years, what is it you have done? Earlier, your party was in power for more than 40 years. What is it you have done?" he asked.

Alleging that Congress creates propaganda on every issue, he said one example of it was over the suicide of a soldier.

"Congress creates propaganda on every issue. The death of a soldier, it is very unfortunate...government has already clarified. And even on that you create propaganda, use it for a photo opportunity and give lectures."

"You (Congress) are trying to create dramas and then try to derive political mileage (by creating propaganda)" he said.

"The same people do not go and enquire about the condition of farmers who commit suicide...about army jawans who become martyrs and they do not go and visit their families. They just want use each and every occasion to criticise the government and take the name of Prime Minister for each and every thing," he alleged.

On Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's remarks that phones of judges being tapped, he said, "one Chief Minister said the other day that judges phones are tapped. Who's phone was tapped? He says only Intelligence Bureau can tell".

The minister demanded that Kejriwal name at least one judge whose phones had been tapped and give proof for it. "You just say it and then campaign by saying judges phones are tapped", he said.