Sharpening his attack on RSS and Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused them of trying to usurp the legacy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and recalled the Congress stalwart’s description of RSS as “a venomous organisation” which could “finish” the country.
Launching the poll campaign for the Congress in Himachal Pradesh from this picturesque hill town, Dr. Gandhi took a dig at the BJP prime ministerial candidate, saying it is an irony that a person who lived all his life with RSS ideology is now installing Sardar Patel’s statue and it appears he has neither read history nor the views of Patel.
The Congress vice-president quoted Sardar Patel’s views on RSS and said that Patel had described the RSS as “a venomous organisation which could finish the country”.
Accusing the BJP of pursuing politics of hatred to divide the people on communal, caste, creed and regional lines, Mr. Gandhi told the rally at Police Stadium that the BJP talks of Hinduism but acts against the spirit of the Bhagwad Gita which preached love and brotherhood.
Claiming that the UPA government had taken several steps like the Right to Information (RTI) Act and Lokpal to curb corruption, he accused the Opposition of blocking about a half-a-dozen bills in Parliament aimed at effectively checking corruption.
Holding the Opposition responsible for the non-passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill, he said the Congress party is committed to women empowerment and it would not only provide reservation for women in Lok Sabha and State assemblies but also give adequate reservation to them in ministries and government departments.
Before reaching the rally site, Mr. Gandhi attended a meeting of ex-servicemen at Tanda near Dharamshala.
Addressing the meeting, he termed the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as a “battle of thoughts”, saying that while the Congress stood for empowering the people, the Opposition represented only the rich in the country.
Lauding the 10-year rule of UPA as period of growth, Mr. Gandhi said that 15 crore people have been brought above the poverty line and referred to the passage of Acts relating to MNREGA, Food Security, RTI and Land Acquisition.
Maintaining that he did not believe in making tall promises, Mr. Gandhi said that he only promises to make sincere efforts to solve the problems of the people.
Striking an emotional chord with ex-servicemen, rural folk, women and youth, Mr. Gandhi said that the UPA accepted the 25-year-old demand of “one rank one pay” to ex-servicemen and that the decision to increase the number of subsidised LPG cylinders from 9 to 12 was also taken based on the demand of women.
The Congress empowered the Panchayati Raj Institutions to ensure active participation of women and youth in the development of the country, he added.
“We want development and growth of all sections of the society, especially women and youth, and bring 70 crore people in the middle income group,” he said.
Accusing the BJP of taking credit for infrastructural development works of UPA, Mr. Gandhi said that the UPA government constructed three times more roads than the NDA in five years and now a manufacturing corridor and a freight corridor is being developed to generate employment and give a boost to manufacturing sector.
He said that opposition parties criticised former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for computerisation and IT and spread a canard that it would squeeze employment opportunities but when people realised the benefits of computerisation and mobile phone, they tried to take credit for it.
Expressing hope that the UPA would win the Lok Sabha polls, Mr. Gandhi listed the achievements of the UPA government and schemes and programmes launched in Himachal and asked party workers to highlight this to people.
He said that the BJP which had opposed statehood to Himachal is now trying to take credit for developing the hill state.
Mr. Gandhi also said he was fascinated by the beauty of the snow-covered Dhouladhar Mountains in Dharamsala. “This is really the most beautiful hill station I have ever seen.”
