Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “liar”, AICC president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday described him as a man who “did not understand the fundamentals of dharma”.
At the Janasheervada rally at Chikkamagaluru, Mr. Gandhi said that during his visit to Sringeri Sharada Peetha he interacted with children who have been taught about religion in the mutt. “During the interaction, I asked students about the fundamentals of dharma. A 14-year-old student said ‘truth is the foundation of dharma’. He quoted satyameva jayate . Similar was the reply from three or four other students. I wonder how the Prime Minister of this country has not been able to understand what a 14-year-old boy has understood,” he said.
Mr. Gandhi accused Mr. Modi of telling the public “lies after lies”. “Mr. Modi also often quotes Basavanna, who taught nudidante nade (practice what you preach). But does not fulfil the promises he made to the public,” he said.
Mr. Modi had assured ₹15 lakh to every person during his election rallies in 2014. “I want to know if anybody has got at least ₹10 in their bank account. He had promised two crore jobs every year. I want to know if any one person in this gathering got a job because of Mr. Modi,” he said. Mr. Gandhi made it clear that he would never make a promise like offering ₹15 lakh to every person. “But, whatever I promise with regard to public health, education and employment, I will definitely fulfil all of them,” he said.
Mr. Gandhi also took on the Prime Minister for his repeated statements that the country did not achieve anything in the last 70 years. He said he had seen many Prime Ministers, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee and P.V. Narasimha Rao, but none was dismissive of the past in this fashion. Mr. Modi was of the belief that “the country could achieve something only after he became PM of the country,” he said.
This was nothing but showing disrespect to crores of people who contributed to the country’s growth all these years, he added.
“Your parents, crores of farmers, workers have worked hard for the country. A country is not made by one single person. Crores of people have contributed to its growth,” said Mr. Gandhi.
‘You stood by my grandmother ...’
“You stood by my grandmother during her tough times. I can never forget you in my lifetime,” said Mr. Gandhi at the rally.
He remembered the 1978 byelection in which his grandmother Indira Gandhi was re-elected to the Lok Sabha at a time when the Congress was in a bad state.
He began his speech saying he was very happy to be in this place which played an important role in his grandmother’s political career. “My grandmother did work for the poor of this country. You have played an important role in her all contributions to the country. Whenever you need my presence, just let me know it, I will come to you,” he said.
He ended his 38-minute speech by again referring to Indira Gandhi’s election, and added that he would never forget the people of Chikkamagaluru.
Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi had addressed rallies in the past at the district stadium here, where Mr. Gandhi delivered the speech. Indira Gandhi had won the byelection against Janata Party leader Veerendra Patil.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also remembered the byelection in his speech. “Because of the victory Indira Gandhi got in Chikkamagaluru in 1978, she could become the Prime Minister again within the next two years,” he said.
At present, only one of the five Assembly segments in the district is represented by a Congress MLA.
