‘Pathological Liar’: Congress slams PM Narendra Modi over his criticism of previous govts on Cheetah re-introduction

New Delhi: The Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday (September 18, 2022) hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remark that "no constructive efforts" were made for decades to reintroduce cheetahs to India after the big cats were declared extinct in the country.

The Congress leader shared a letter on Twitter which, he said, initiated 'Project Cheetah' in 2009 and accused PM Modi of being a "pathological liar" for criticising previous governments of not making constructive efforts to reintroduce the big cat in India.

The remarks were made by the prime minister after he released three of the eight cheetahs flown in from Namibia into special enclosures in the Kuno National Park (KNP) in the Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh.

"This was the letter that launched Project Cheetah in 2009. Our PM is a pathological liar. I couldn't lay my hands on this letter yesterday because of my preoccupation with the Bharat Jodo Yatra," Mr. Ramesh tweeted.

This was the letter that launched Project Cheetah in 2009. Our PM is a pathological liar. I couldn’t lay my hands on this letter yesterday because of my preoccupation with the #BharatJodoYatra pic.twitter.com/3AQ18a4bSh — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 18, 2022

The Congress leader, along with the tweet, also shared the letter which was written by him, as then Minister for Environment and Forests, to M.K. Ranjitsinh of the Wildlife Trust of India in 2009.

The letter shared by Mr Ramesh dates back to 2009. In the letter, Ramesh had asksed a functionary of the Wildlife Trust of India to prepare a roadmap for the reintroduction of cheetahs. There was no immediate reaction from the BJP on Mr. Ramesh's remarks.