Modi has abandoned Bharat Mata, works diligently for Adani: Rahul Gandhi

The Congress leader said he had realised what the dreams of the youths were and how they were shattered during his Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addresses a public meeting ahead of Rajasthan Assembly elections, in Bundi district, on November 19, 2023. Photo: X/@INCIndia via PTI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of favouring billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani and targeting him for not conducting a caste census. Mr. Gandhi said Mr. Modi should chant Adani Ji Ki Jai (hail Adani) instead of Bharat Mata Ki Jai.

Addressing election rallies in Bundi and Dausa districts, Mr. Gandhi said the Prime Minister was “working round-the-clock” for Adani. “His policies are aimed at creating two separate Hindustans: one catering to Adani’s interests and the other made up of the poor and downtrodden,” he said.

Mr. Gandhi’s charge was in line with the Congress’s demand for a probe into the Adani Group’s activities to ascertain if it was benefiting from the BJP government’s support.

Caste census top priority

The Wayanad MP said the Modi government would not conduct a caste census and only the Congress could get it done. “We are going to do it in Rajasthan. At the Centre, this will be our first task as soon as the Congress comes to power. This will ensure the true involvement of underprivileged people.”

Mr. Gandhi questioned Mr. Modi’s contention in his speeches that there was no caste in the country and the only caste was the poor. “You change clothes thrice a day and travel in airplanes and cars worth crores of rupees, but when the backward classes want to know their population, you say there is no caste,” he said.

The Congress leader said he had realised what the dreams of the youths were and how they were shattered during his Bharat Jodo Yatra. Despite comprising about half the population, the Other Backward Classes had a negligible share in high-ranking services and there was no big industrialist from these sections, Mr. Gandhi said.

Mr. Gandhi said the BJP’s mentality was reflected in the case of the party leader who urinated on a tribal man in Madhya Pradesh. On the other hand the Congress has denied a ticket to a sitting MLA who assaulted a Dalit. “The BJP welcomed this leader and fielded him as its candidate for the Assembly election,” he said, referring to Bari MLA Girraj Malinga who has defected to the BJP.

Mr. Gandhi also visited the Congress war room in Jaipur to oversee preparations for the upcoming Assembly election. Congress in-charge for Rajasthan Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa was present.