Congress on Thursday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop trolling and introspect after BJP losses in Varanasi and Nagpur. Jairam Ramesh said, "The Prime Minister needs to introspect, but instead, he is sermonising others!" He added that many families face inflation and unemployment, showing public dissatisfaction with government policies.

Jairam Ramesh cites BJP losses in Varanasi and Nagpur, raising concerns over inflation and unemployment.

New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his jibe at the party's performance in the legislative council elections, asking him to stop "trolling and sermonising" and introspect on the BJP's defeat in both seats in his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the results reflected public dissatisfaction with the government's policies, citing the BJP's defeats in Varanasi and Nagpur and setbacks in Lucknow, Prayagraj and Patna.

"The Prime Minister needs to introspect, but instead, he is sermonising others! Before counting Congress's seats, I wish he would also reflect on why the BJP lost both seats in his own parliamentary constituency of Varanasi, and how Congress managed to defeat the BJP in the RSS's stronghold of Nagpur," Ramesh said in a Hindi post on X.

"Modi, stop the trolling. Crores of families are reeling from back-breaking inflation, the youth are unemployed, and private investment has ground to a halt," he said, urging the Prime Minister to focus on these issues.

"From Varanasi and Nagpur to Lucknow, Prayagraj, and Patna, the people have clearly passed a no-confidence motion against your policies," he added.

The exchange followed Modi's criticism of the Congress over its poor performance in elections to 28 legislative council seats across four states, conducted using ballot papers.

The Congress won only one seat, while the BJP and its NDA allies secured 16. The Samajwadi Party won five seats in Uttar Pradesh, including two in Varanasi.

On Wednesday, the Congress challenged Modi to demonstrate his confidence in electronic voting machines by agreeing to conduct future Lok Sabha and Assembly elections using ballot papers.

The party argued that if Modi believed EVMs had no bearing on electoral outcomes, he should agree to using paper ballots in parliamentary and Assembly polls.