Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar Aug 27: Congress vice president and Member Parliament, Rahul Gandhi, today targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the violence in Gujarat during quota agitation by Patels, saying it was a repercussion of the politics of anger pursued by the PM.
Rahul told reporters during his visit to South Kashmir’s saffron township of Pampore that Modi is doing politics of anger and its repercussion was seen in Gujarat. “Our Prime Minister Modi is doing politics of anger and such politics has repercussions for the country which you are seeing in Gujarat,” he said.
The Congress vice president said the politics of anger has only benefited Modi. “They want people to fight and spread anger. We all know this truth. We (Congress) believe that anger does not benefit anybody except Modiji. It does not benefit the country, farmers, poor and businessmen and we have seen this in Kashmir,” he said. He said Congress believed in taking everybody along.
Rahul said it has been seen in Kashmir over the past many years now that violence does not benefit anyone. Hitting out at the BJP, he said they make the people angry and want them to fight each other.”Congress wants to take everyone along in harmony,” he added.
The Congress leader accused the NDA Government of being anti-farmer. “This Government is anti-farmer across the country. It is a suit-boot ki sarkar. Initially we thought, it was generally suit-boot ki sarkar but now we have realised that it is only (favouring) five or 10 people (corporate),” he added.
Rahul said he had come to Kashmir on the invitation of the saffron growers as they wanted me to see firsthand the problems they were facing.
Later, while addressing a party rally in restive Sopore in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, the Congress leader targeted Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and said that it is his duty to ensure that New Delhi announce a flood rehabilitation package.
“There was a talk of a big package. PM talks of package wherever he goes. But this is only packaging, there is no package in it…I want to tell the CM that it’s your government….bring the package here….it is your job to rectify the damages done (in floods),” Rahul told a Congress rally.
In his speech, Rahul claimed that the State Government did not want him to address the people of Sopore. He also regretted that the Congress hoardings about his visit were removed by the Government in Srinagar. “You can remove our flags and hoardings but you cannot remove Congress ideology from the hearts of people,” he said.
Hitting out at the PDP over its statements made while campaigning before the assembly elections last year, he said: “Before elections, they (PDP) said give us votes, we will fight BJP. But after polls, they did the reverse. People know, probably CM also knows in his heart, that this government is not going to benefit people.”
Crediting his party for bringing peace to the Valley, empowering Panchayats by holding elections and launching women empowerment schemes, Rahul said only Congress can bring peace to the region.
Rahul was confident that the Congress will form the next Government as the PDP-BJP Government had failed to live up to the expectations of the people.
The MP continued his tirade against the Central Government saying: “BJP came with a statement that I am indulging in tourism. For them meeting a farmer or a poor man is tourism. But meeting a businessmen, giving five to ten families country’s inheritance is politics for them (BJP),” he said.
During both the addresses, Rahul said coming to Kashmir was like ‘homecoming’ and that he had a ‘special relation’ with the State. “Whenever I come to Jammu and Kashmir I am happy that I am coming home but I am sad also as people here have faced problems … people have died over the years,” he added.
Later, Rahul met several delegations including those of business bodies, fruit growers and youth. The Congress vice president is scheduled to fly back to New Delhi tomorrow morning.
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