Does PM believe Lord Jagannath to be his devotee, asks Cong

The Congress on Wednesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi whether he was withholding Rs 7,000 crore of paddy procurement funds to West Bengal and if the CBI case against BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari has got “washed away” in the ruling party’s “washing machine”.
Raking up the BJP candidate Sambit Patra’s recent remarks that even “Lord Jagannath is a devotee of Modi”, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also asked if the PM believes Lord Jagannath to be his devotee.
Ramesh said that the Patra’s remarks are is “deeply insulting” to crores of Lord Jagannath’s devotees across the world.
“The outgoing PM himself has claimed that he was not biologically born but sent to Earth by the Creator himself. Can he tell us where he claims to fit in the pantheon of Indian Gods? Does he truly believe Lord Jagannath to be his devotee?” he asked.
Ramesh also asked if the prime minister prioritised his PR over vaccines and funds under the National Health Mission.
“Today’s questions for the outgoing PM’s West Bengal visit: Is the outgoing PM withholding Rs 7,000 crore of ration funds so that his face is plastered on ration shops?
Did Suvendu Adhikari’s CBI case get washed away in BJP’s washing machine? Does the PM prioritise his PR over vaccines for India’s children?” he asked in a post on X.
He posed the questions on a day the prime minister is campaigning in West Bengal for the last phase of Lok Sabha elections on June 1.
“In an incredibly petty move, the Centre has been withholding National Food Security Act funds from West Bengal for not displaying the outgoing PM’s face on ration shops. In an attempt to coerce the state government into displaying sign boards and flexes featuring the outgoing PM’s photos, the Centre has withheld Rs 7,000 crore of paddy procurement funds,” Ramesh charged.
He said this could seriously hinder the state’s paddy procurement and the availability of rice for the public distribution system.
“Why has the outgoing PM so callously neglected the health and wellbeing of the people of West Bengal? Is his publicity more important than people’s daily food?” the Congress leader asked.
He said in April 2017, the CBI filed an FIR against then TMC MP Adhikari in connection with the Narada scam.
In April 2019, the CBI sought sanction from the Lok Sabha speaker to prosecute him and in December 2020, Adhikari joined the BJP, and the CBI never received the Lok Sabha speaker’s sanction, Ramesh said.
Similarly, he said, TMC leader Tapas Roy was raided by the ED in January this year in connection with a money laundering case and by March, he had also joined the BJP. Just a few months prior to his joining, Adhikari had alleged that Roy was involved in a municipal recruitment scam but this allegation also “disappeared” once Roy joined the party, he claimed.
“The PM’s ‘Bhrashtachar Hatao’ slogan is shamelessly plastered all over the country even as his party is busy handing tickets to corrupt politicians.