New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today termed the BJP's big win in state polls as people's endorsement of demonetisation and asserted that it was seen as pro-poor, reformist and the sole defender of the nationalist constituency in the country.
He also slammed the Congress for its "historic" blunders including opposing demonetisation and identifying with anti-national activities like the one in JNU which wanted to break the country.
Noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's extensive campaign in Uttar Pradesh gave the party "cutting edge", Jaitley also termed the Manipur result as historic as the party advanced from having no seats to a possibility of forming a government.
"Lotus of development blooms in Manipur. Congratulations to BJP Karyakartas & people of Manipur on a historic win in the assembly elections," he tweeted.
He however admitted that in Punjab, the two-term anti-incumbency had taken its toll.
"Historic victory of BJP in UP & Uttarakhand assembly elections shows people's support for development agenda of PM," he tweeted.
Talking about Congress's two blunders, Jaitley said that the first one was to oppose demonetisation as by doing so, it made sure that the poor as an electoral constituency shift to the BJP.
He said the second blunder was when symbols of anti-national activities in the country was seen like the JNU slogans, one found the tallest Congress leader going and identifying with them.
"So BJP became the sole defender of the nationalist constituency and in the run up to the election, we are seen as pro-poor, we are seen as economically a reformist and a sole defender of the nationalist constituency of the country," he said.
"Congress conceded that advantage to us in the run up to the election," Jaitley said.
"BJP's landslide victory in assembly elections has again established that people of India want development as pushed by PM," he said in his tweet.
Noting that Prime Minister's extensive campaign in UP gave the party a cutting edge, Jaitley said in the last two phases where Modi campaigned three days in a row, out of the 89 seats, BJP won close to 70.
The policies of the government in the last three years have been endorsed. The poor have shifted towards BJP in a big way, Jaitley said.
He pointed out that this shifting of poor was because the benefits of economic growth, larger revenue and policies like Jan Dhan, money into their bank accounts, free gas connections or demonetisation were directed towards the poor.
He said that non-payment of taxes creates an unjust enrichment in the favour of tax evaders and this money would actually be used for poor and for the country.