Launching the campaign in poll-bound Gujarat on its Foundation Day, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making people listen to his “Mann Ki Baat” instead of listening to their problems and resolving them.
Mr. Gandhi addressed a massive rally in tribal-dominated Dediapada in Narmada district, describing “Gujarat as Hindustan’s shaan” and asserted that under the BJP rule, only 10-15 people were running the State.
“As elections are due in Gujarat, I want to promise you that if the Congress wins the polls, our government will be of everyone not just one person. Instead of just telling our Mann ki Baat, our government will try to understand your Mann ki Baat,” he said, taking a dig at Mr. Modi’s monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat .
Mr. Gandhi invoked Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel and said Gujarat’s progress was due to their efforts. “The way, Amul dairy movement involving women and farmers was created in Gujarat by Sardar Patel at the instance of Mahatma Gandhi, it remains the largest movement today and no nation can compete with it.”
“I want to ask the farmers that in the past 20 years what the Narendra Modi government did for you. Big industrialists get thousands of acres as gift in Gujarat. When farmers ask for their rights, police beat their women. Today, 10-15 people rule in Gujarat,” he said without naming any name.
Taking potshots at PM Modi’s promises made during the campaigning in 2014 parliamentary polls, Mr Gandhi said that Mr Modi had promised to create two crore jobs annually but as per the government records, only one lakh new jobs were created last year.
“When I met some Patidar youths from Gujarat, they told me that they all supported Modi Ji in the past but when they tried to demand jobs and education, they were beaten up, and women were also beaten up,” he said, referring to the Patidar quota agitation in 2015.
Mr Gandhi expressed confidence that his party will defeat the BJP in the assembly polls slated to be held later this year.
According to him, the NDA government at the centre and the BJP government at state have ignored the issues of tribals, farmers and have only worked to promote interests of a few industrialists.
“The RSS and BJP want tribals to migrate to urban areas and work as domestic maids while the government had brought in a law to give forest lands to tribals”
Before reaching the venue to address a huge rally, Mr Gandhi offered prayers at a local deity’s temple.
Senior Congress leader and political advisor to Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel also slammed the central government over the issue of killings of security forces by terrorists and Pakistan army.
“Mr Modi keeps talking about making Congress free country but I request him to instead make the country terrorism free. Security forces are getting killed from Kashmir to Chhatisgarh,” Mr Patel said.
