A year of Modi: Congress plans mega offensive with 24 press meets today

The opposition Congress has planned 24 press conferences across the country on Wednesday as it prepares to counter a slew of events planned by the Narendra Modi government to celebrate its first year in power. Till May 26 - the day Modi was sworn-in last year - the Sonia Gandhi-led party plans at least 100 press meets with a one-point agenda for its spokespersons: discredit the NDA government.

Some of the press conferences planned on Wednesday include one in Chennai where Milind Deora will speak, Raj Babbar in Bhopal, Girija Vyas in Chandigarh and Shakeel Ahmed in Srinagar.

The Congress offensive largely rides on the sentiment triggered by Modi's controversial statements abroad, including the speech in Seoul where he reportedly said that Indians used to be ashamed of their country before he was elected to power. "There was a time when people used to say we don't know what sins we committed in our past life that we were born in Hindustan. Is this any country, is this any government...we will leave. There was a time when people used to leave, businessmen used to say we can't do business here. These people are ready to come back. The mood has changed," he had said, making similar statements in Shanghai.

Hashtag #ModiInsultsIndia greeted the prime minister as he returned home on Tuesday from his three-nation tour to China, Mangolia and South Korea; his supporters soon followed suit with a #ModiIndiasPride. "We are really pained over the remarks as no leader in independent India has ever made such a statement", Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal said on Tuesday.