Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Union minister and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) Anand Sharma advised him to exercise restraint in his speeches.

Addressing media persons on Tuesday he said, “In the election rallies this time, Modi has forgotten the promises made by him to the people of the country in the 2014 elections.”

He said by forgetting the promises made to the public he is insulting them who voted him to power with a huge majority in the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 for which he should apologise, he added.

Sharma was accompanied by party in-charge for Himachal, Rajni Patil, senior Congress leaders Virbhadra Singh and Vidya Stokes, state Congress president Kuldeep Singh Rathore, and leader of Opposition in Himachal Pradesh Mukesh Agnihotri.

The top Congress leaders moved to Congress office for the press conference after Solan MLA, Col (retd) Dhani Ram Shandil, filed his nomination papers for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from the Shimla Parliamentary constituency here.

“Modi is only attacking the Congress leaders and other opposition party leaders considering them as his personal enemy and this is the only reason why he uses offensive statements against them, which we strongly object,” he said.

Modi had made tall promises to the people of the country including providing two crore jobs annually, bringing back black money and provide security to the women of the country, however, he has failed on all fronts.

The unemployment rate in the country has shot up drastically, he charged, adding that employment has emerged as one of the biggest issues of the public and the central government is suppressing the data.

His faulty decisions like demonetization have rendered many jobless and led to shutting down of many business establishments, he said, adding that the Goods and Service Tax (GST) has led to the country suffering huge losses.

Modi, instead of taking a serious view on the real issues of the public, is instead trying to issue irresponsible statements only to divert and mislead the people of the country, he said.

Modi should exercise restraint in his speeches and explain to the country why he has cheated them, he added.

He said that in the last three years, BJP has emerged as the biggest advertiser of the country (on Netflix, Amazon, Unilever, Tata Industries and Reliance) having spent Rs 4,000 crores on advertisements which was public money.

He said that in the midst of the anger of the public this time the popularity of BJP has dropped sharply.

Modi, in his speeches, is misusing the name of the army and army men who have laid down their precious lives for the country to garner votes. “This is an insult to the Army men, who are not the army and army men of Modi and BJP.”

He said Modi, while addressing a public rally in Rajasthan a day ago, refusing to be threatened by Pakistan had said that India was capable to launch nuclear attack and stated that we were ready to fire 18 missiles, however, America intervened and pacified Pakistan, said Sharma, seeking to know whether Modi was the commander-in-chief.

Sharma said India had become nuclear power in 1974 and such irresponsible statements have never been issued by any of the PMs of India. The thought process and mindset of Modi are matters of grave concern for the country, added Sharma.