Amid a massive show of strength at the Congress’s Bharat Bachao (Save India) Rally in New Delhi’s Ram Lila Maidan on December 14, all the members of the Gandhi family attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, with former party chief Rahul Gandhi saying he was “not Rahul Savarkar to apologise for speaking the truth” and party president Sonia Gandhi asserting that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act would “shred the soul of India”.
Ms. Sonia Gandhi also vowed to protect “democracy and the Constitution until the last breath”.
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Mr. Gandhi refused to apologise for his ‘Rape in India’ comment and instead asked Mr. Modi to apologise for “single handedly destroying the economy, something that even India’s enemies had not managed”.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pointed out how Mr. Modi had failed to deliver on his promise of making India a $5-trillion economy by 2024, double farm income in five years and offer 2 crore jobs to youth every year.
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Party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra used the BJP’s election slogan Modi hain to mumkin hain ( Modi makes it possible) to attack the government over onion prices, employment, and farmer suicides, among other issues.
“The BJP asked me to apologise. My name is not Rahul Savarkar, it is Rahul Gandhi, and I will never apologise for speaking the truth. I will die, but I will not apologise for speaking the truth and nor will any Congressman do so. It is Narendra Modi and his assistant Amit Shah who have to apologise to the country for destroying India’s economy,” Mr. Gandhi said.
“All of India’s enemies wanted that its economy, which is its strength, should be destroyed. That work [destruction] has not been done by the enemies, but by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself. And, (he) still calls himself a patriot,” he said.
The former Congress chief said the economy was hit so hard because of demonetisation that it is yet to recover and claimed that the actual growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 2.5% if one went by the earlier method of calculation.
Referring to the CAA, the Congress leader alleged that the BJP and PM Modi have set the entire north east region on fire and States like Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh are burning.
“Your own country is being weakened and divided and our economy is being destroyed. The reason is that Narendra Modi sees only one thing whether the power is in his hand. He [Modi] only works to remain in power. He will destroy everything to achieve power,” alleged the former Congress chief.
Mr. Gandhi, in the middle of his speech, switched to address people who were watching him on TV and asked them to shun fear and raise their voices. He also recalled how the media and other institutions performed their duty in questioning the Congress-led UPA but has ‘forgotten to perform its duty now’.
The Congress leader also accused the government of giving ₹1.4 lakh crore worth of waivers to the corporate and how over 50 contracts including airport privatisation to the Adani group.
“You were lied to, you were told this [demonetisation] is a fight against black money. But, your money was given to Adani and Anil Ambani,” he alleged.
He said Mr. Modi only ‘wants to be seen on television all the time’ and the people, whom he has benefited by giving them the money that was ‘snatched from people’, are the ones funding him for marketing himself on the TV.
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Ms. Sonia Gandhi, in a scathing attack on the Modi government’s performance, pointed out its ‘failures’ to secure the future of the youth, provide relief to farmers and small businesses and assure women about their security.
“They are not bothered that this new CAA will shred the soul of India, as is happening in Assam and other northeastern States. It is for India’s soul that our great nation builders and Babasaheb Ambedkar struggled hard, but I can say with confidence that our country’s basic foundation does not allow such discriminatory actions,” the Congress chief said.
“Tolerating injustice is the biggest crime...Therefore, we should give a loud and clear message to the Modi-Shah Government that to protect democracy we are ready to make any sacrifice, we are ready to make any sacrifice to protect our Constitution, we are ready for any kind of struggle,” Ms. Sonia Gandhi added.
The Congress leader alleged that the BJP and PM Modi have set the entire north east region on fire and states like Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura are burning.
“He (Modi) has burnt all these places. He divides people and works towards weakening the country, while you people, who have come here, don’t divide India and work with your sweat and blood for taking the country forward.
“Your own country is being weakened and divided and our economy is being destroyed. The reason is that Narendra Modi sees only one thing whether the power is in his hand. He (Modi) only works for being in power. He will destroy everything to achieve power,” he said.
Mr. Gandhi said PM Modi only “wants to be seen on television all the time” and the people whom he has benefitted by giving them the money “snatched from people”, are the ones funding him for marketing himself on the TV.
He said it is only the Prime Minister and no other opposition leader who can be seen on television.
The former Congress chief said the country cannot progress as long as there is no money in the pockets of the poor, farmers, labourers and youths. He also recalled that MNREGA was brought as the Congress knew this country could not progress without labourers.
He said there are many honest industrialists in this country, and “I believe if farmers and labourers make this country, honest industrialists too contribute” to its growth.