Cong corners Govt over price rise
NEW DELHI, Sept 4: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP of weakening the country by spreading fear and hatred which he said will benefit India’s enemies, as the party tried to corner the Government over the price rise issue with a massive rally here.
Launching an all-out attack on the Government at the ‘Mehangai Par Halla Bol’ rally at Ramlila Maidan here, he alleged since the BJP Government has come there is pressure on institutions such as media, judiciary, Election Commission, and the Government is undermining them.
He alleged Modi was working 24 hours for benefitting two big industrialists.
Under PM Modi, he said, two Indias are being created, one which belongs to the poor where no dream could be accomplished, and the other of a few big businessmen where every dream can be achieved.
He said while PM Modi wants to benefit big businessmen by dividing the country, the Congress ideology stands for providing equal benefits to all especially the poor and the downtrodden.
Gandhi said the Government did not allow the Opposition to speak in Parliament, and the “only way for us is to talk directly to people and tell the truth of the country to people and hear them out”.
This is precisely why the Congress party is starting the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ this week, he said, adding this will help talk directly to people and discuss their issues.
He said the Congress lifted 27 crore people out of poverty but in the last eight years PM Modi has “pushed 23 crore” people back into poverty. “The work we did in 10 years they destroyed it in eight years.”
“Narendra Modi is taking India backwards. Narendra Modi ji is spreading hatred, and fear,” he said. “This will benefit the country’s enemies, it will benefit China, it will benefit Pakistan but not India. The more hatred, anger and fear spread in India, the more it will be weakened.”
Gandhi accused Modi of “finishing India’s economic power, with unemployment touching a 40-year high”.
“I want to ask ‘do price rise, unemployment, hate strengthen the country’. They weakens the country and Narendra Modi and the BJP are working to weaken the country. The Congress unites the country, we remove hatred, fear. When hatred and fear is removed, the country progresses, we have shown this for so many years,” the former Congress chief said.
He accused the Modi dispensation of being unable to provide employment and benefit only two big industrialists. “The PM and the two industrialists were working for mutual benefit 24X7.”
In a tweet later, Gandhi said, “Only the Congress ideology can bring the country on the path of progress. We will go straight to the people and tell them the truth and understand whatever is in their heart. Now there will be #BharatJodoYatra,”
He began his speech at the rally talking about the “hate and fear” in the country.
“Hate is a form of fear,” he told the well-attended event. “When we say hate is increasing in the country, to say in a different way, fear is increasing in the country — fear of the future, fear of inflation, fear of unemployment and because of this hatred is increasing. Due to hate, the country is divided and is weakened.
“BJP and RSS leaders divide country and deliberately spread fear,” he alleged. “The question is whom do they do it for and why. Who is benefitted from this fear and hate. Tell me what benefits the poor, labourers and small traders have got from the Modi government? Two industrialists have benefitted from this fear and hate,” Gandhi said.
Addressing the ‘Mehngai par Halla Bol rally’ at Ramlila maidan here, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said the party made all efforts to hold a debate on price rise in the Parliament and the Government kept avoiding it.
He said the Government did agree for a debate after they fought from “Parliament to streets under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership”, but got only five hours to discuss it, of which Congress was allocated just 28 minutes.
“GST has been increased on daily use items such as curd. Unemployment and prices are rising on one hand and on the other hand the rupee’s value is going down vis-a-vis the dollar.
“I want to ask Modi ji what are you doing as unemployment, prices are rising and China is also attacking us. But he does not respond to these issues,” Kharge said.
Speaking at the rally, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said, “The people in the BJP are fascists, they only wear the mask of democracy.”
“The situation of the entire country is very concerning, the constitution is being destroyed, democracy is in danger. Modi has forgotten the things he had said during UPA rule,” he said.
“The credibility of Gandhis is highest and even more than yours (Modi’s), as no one in the Gandhi family has held any position in the Government including being the Prime Minister,” he said.
Gehlot said there is an atmosphere of hatred and violence in the country and thus the need for uniting people, and the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra.’
He claimed that “wonderful work” was done under the UPA Government under Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh and it was made to go through a conspiracy.
“An atmosphere was created against the Government by discrediting it through a conspiracy,” he said.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel slammed the BJP over its “revdi” remark in which the party recently disparaged the “freebie” politics.
Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said input costs for farmers were increasing and their income was decreasing.
He said unemployment has reached such proportions that even for the post of peon thousands of graduates and post graduates apply. Hooda also slammed the Agnipath scheme of the Government.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said it is easy to come into the Congress and leave, “but it is very difficult to stay on and fight.” His apparent dig was at Ghulam Nabi Azad, who quit the party recently blaming the leadership.
Ahead of Sunday’s ‘Mehngai Par Halla Bol’ rally of the party at the Ramlila Maidan here, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the rally was not being held as with 2024 elections in mind, but to highlight the two “biggest challenges” of inflation and unemployment to the people.
“Modi Government has two brothers – unemployment and inflation. Modi Government has two brothers – ED and CBI,” the Congress leader went on to say.
“We had protested against this even on August 5. About 70 MPs were detained, including Rahul Gandhi. People from 12-13 States are coming and we want to send an effective message to the insensitive Modi Government that people are suffering from this back-breaking inflation and unemployment and solutions should be found for them,” Ramesh said.
Asked about Ghulam Nabi Azad’s rally in Jammu on Sunday, Ramesh said he would speak about the Congress rally “not that of the BJP.” (PTI)
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