Blowing the party’s poll bugle from Champaran, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday flayed Prime Minister Narendra Modi government as “suit-boot ki sarkar” and also echoed someone from the crowd calling Mr. Modi “pheku” (braggart).
Mahatma Gandhi had launched his Satygraha movement from the land of Champaran.
Kick-starting his party’s first poll rally billed as ‘Samrasta Sammelam’ at the sugar factory grounds at Ram Nagar in West Champaran, Mr. Gandhi also took on Mr Modi on the issue of corruption and said the BJP-led NDA government was forced to withdraw the “land acquisition Bill” through which it wanted to take over lands of the poor.
While Mr. Gandhi was targeting Mr. Modi for the latter’s failure to fulfil promises made during the last Lok Sabha poll, someone from the crowd shouted: “Mr. Modi was pheku…he was pheku.” The Congress vice-president repeated it. The crowd cheered lustily, bringing smile to Mr. Gandhi’s face. The Congress vice-president said initially Gandhiji wore a suit, then a shirt and finally switched dhoti (loin-cloth). “But, Modiji, I have heard, was selling tea during his childhood but today he wears suits worth Rs. 15 lakh and meets only those wearing suit and boot.”
“This is a suit-boot ki sarkar and not of the poor and I have raised this issue in Parliament as well”, said Mr. Gandhi, drawing cheers from the moderate crowd consisting mostly of youth.
“If you want to have a clean India, you have to go to common people, if you want to do something for farmers you have to go to them and if you really want to provide employment to the youth, you have to talk to them,” said Mr. Gandhi. Attacking Mr. Modi, the Congress leader said he had promised to provide two crore jobs every year. “More than a year has passed, but how many of you have got jobs? Have you got money in your bank account? Have they opened the closed sugar mills of Champaran which Modiji had promised?”
‘Govt. steeped in corruption’ Mr. Gandhi also took on the government over corruption and raised issues such as the PDS scam in Chhattisgarh, the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh. He accused BJP leader Sushma Swaraj of going to the rescue of former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi and Rajasthan CM Vasundhra Raje Scindia having business relations with Lalit Modi. “ But Modiji (the Prime Minister) says they have weeded out corruption.”
“If the BJP comes to power some suit-boot-wearing people from Gujarat will come and take away your land…but be assured we’ll not allow it to happen,” declared Mr. Gandhi.Appealing to people to vote for the Congress and the ‘mahagathbandhan (‘grand alliance’) in, he promised that if their government came to power, “it will give Rs. 4 lakh credit to young people for their education and 33 per cent reservation to women and work for the development of the poor.”
