In Kerala, Rahul hits out at Modi
We aggressively fought elections in Gujarat. But each time the PM tried to distract attention by raising personal issues.
RAHUL GANDHI, Cong Prez-elect
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Congress president-elect Rahul Gandhi on Thursday came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that he stopped uttering the word corruption and started diverting attention when confronted with ground realities.
Addressing a public meeting to mark the conclusion of the month-long rally by state opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala here, Rahul said that in the last few meetings in Gujarat, Modi only talked about himself and the Congress party. “We aggressively fought elections in Gujarat. But each time the PM tried to distract attention by raising personal issues. Though he insulted former PM Manmohan Singh, who devoted his whole life to the country, we do not react in the same tone,” he said.
Mounting allegations against BJP president Amit Shah’s son and the “questionable” Rafale helicopter deal have forced Modi to omit his favourite word — corruption — from his speeches, Rahul said. “Not a single word is spoken about these two issues in recent days,” he added.
Rahul said that the people no longer believed Modi’s tall words. “When he came to power three years ago with tall promises, the youth believed him. But three years later, he is facing a big credibility crisis. People no longer believe his words. The main reason behind this is the fact that his action and performance never matched his words,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Rahul visited two fishing hamlet — Poonthura and Vizinjam — battered by cyclone Ockhi. Addressing families of victims and survivors, he said that both the state and central governments will learn a lesson from the calamity and stressed upon the need for a better warning system to avert the recurrence of such tragedies.
Holding that the condition of fishermen very similar to that of farmers, Rahul said that both were suffering due to neglect and wrong policies and he favoured the creation of a separate ministry to protect the interests of fishermen.