We threw garbage out, Modiji took them in, says Rahul in Hardwar

FINALLY THROWING some weight of the AICC behind the Uttarakhand election, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday held a 75-km roadshow in Hardwar. His prime target was Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom he accused of accommodating tainted leaders of the Congress.

“We had thrown kachra (garbage) out of Uttarakhand, Modiji took that kachra into BJP. Modiji says that he is fighting against corruption, but Modiji has embraced those corrupt leaders we expelled from our party,” said Rahul.

The BJP has given tickets to as many as 13 Congress rebels.

Rahul also backed Chief Minister Harish Rawat who is facing charges by a section of the party that some leaders left the Congress due to Rawat’s “arrogance”. “I had told Rawatji that make sure you do not allow corruption. You should put pressure on those indulging in corruption,” said the Congress vicepresident. This was Rahul’s second rally in the state, the earlier being in Sitarganj. Among the senior Congress leaders, he is the only one to address major rallies in Uttarakhand, as the other AICC leaders have mostly held press conferences in the capital Dehradun.

The roadshow began from Bhagwanpur and went through Har ki Pauri, Puhana, Rampurchungi, Bijholi, Manglaur, Laksar and Landhaura.

Hardwar district has 11 constituencies, the maximum in the state. Two Congress rebel leaders Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion and Pradeep Batra are contesting from Khanpur and Roorkee constituencies, respectively. The Congress too has fielded turncoats on these two seats.

While the Congress’s Roorkee candidate Suresh Jain is a BJP rebel, its Khanpur nominee Chaudhary Yashvir Singh won twice from the neighboring constituency of Iqbalpur on BSP’S ticket.

CM Rawat is also contesting from Hardwar Rural, another constituency in the district.