Rahul woos farmers, youth in MP
JABALPUR\BHOPAL: Congress president Rahul Gandhi alleged on Saturday that the Narendra Modi government wanted to create two Indias — one for people such as Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi and Mehul Choksi, who were rolling in money, and the other for the poor, farmers, labourers and small traders.
Gandhi was addressing a gathering at Raddi Chowk in Jabalpur, about 330km east of Bhopal, after an 8km roadshow. The road show was preceded by his attending a prayer, performing aarti barefoot, offering kanya poojan and meeting sadhus on the Narmada riverbank where he spent some 15 minutes.
The city was dotted with posters projecting Gandhi as a Narmada bhakt. During his Bhopal visit on September 17, Congress posters had projected him as a ‘Shiv Bhakt’, and later as Pandit during his visit to Chitrakoot.
Addressing the gathering at Jabalpur, Gandhi alleged, “They want all the benefits of progress to go to 10 to 15 to 20 billionaires of the country.
“But we want that there should be one India and the poor, farmer, labourers and small traders all should share the benefits.”
On the day the dates for assembly elections in five states were announced, Gandhi called upon the people to dislodge the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh.
He said the first priority of a Congress government, if and when it came to power at the Centre and in Madhya Pradesh, would be to offer jobs to the youth and waive farmers’ loans.
He alleged the Prime Minister had made false promises to peo- ple regarding Rs 15 lakh in their bank accounts, jobs to the youth and right minimum support price for crops. Four and a half years had been wasted in the name of Made in India, Start-up India and Swachh Bharat, Gandhi alleged.
Bharatiya Janata Party state spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal said, “Rahul Gandhi’s posing as a religious ‘Narmada Bhakt’ is a sham. Voters realize that he is doing it for the elections and therefore they will discount it.”
During his Jabalpur tour, the third in Madhya Pradesh within three weeks, he was accompanied by state Congress president Kamal Nath, state Congress election campaign committee president Jyotiraditya Scindia, state Congress affairs in charge Dipak Babaria, leader of Opposition in state assembly Ajay Singh and state Congress media in charge Shobha Oza.