In what is viewed as an effort to set the stage for a possible post-poll alliance at the Centre, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu shared a dais and addressed a public rally in Raichur on Friday. This coming together gains significance in the absence of a pre-poll alliance between the Congress and the TDP. Also on stage were Janata Dal (Secular) president H.D. Deve Gowda and Congress leader Siddaramaiah.
Both Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Naidu launched an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in the same region on Thursday.
Before Mr. Gandhi arrived more than two hours behind schedule, Mr. Naidu spoke to the large gathering in Telugu, a language widely understood in this border district. He attacked the BJP and Mr. Modi for “misgovernance” and commended the Congress and its former president Sonia Gandhi for their pro-people initiatives and the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh State.
“Mr. Modi had a clear mandate and he could have done a lot. But, he did nothing for the common people of the country. Demonetisation, his blunder, pulled down the growth rate by 2% and destroyed 50 lakh jobs. His economic measures devalued Indian currency. Mr. Modi had promised to help newly created Andhra Pradesh with special funds, but deceived it later,” he said and called upon the Telugu-speaking people across the world to work to ensure that Mr. Modi’s candidates would suffer a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.
Mr. Gowda and Mr. Siddaramaiah, who spoke after him, followed the same line of attack and said they would work together to keep the BJP at bay. Mr. Gowda said Mr. Modi, who during his recent visit to Karnataka had termed the Congress–JD(S) government in the State as “adulterated” ( maha milavat ) government, should “mind his language”. He pointed out that the BJP too was part of similar coalition in more than 13 States.
Speaking later, Mr. Gandhi took strong exception to the BJP leaders who termed the minimum income guarantee scheme (NYAY) promised by the Congress as something that could not be implemented. His party, upon coming to power, would “take the money from the pockets of big businessmen who looted the country” under Mr. Modi’s rule and put it into the bank accounts of poor people, he said.
