Rahul Gandhi accuses Modi of pursuing revenge agenda
Congress vice-president unhappy with scrapping of a mega food park project in Amethi
The opposition Congress party vice-president Rahul Gandhi yesterday accused the Narendra Modi government of practicing the politics of revenge.
Raising the issue of the scrapping of a mega food park project in his parliamentary constituency Amethi, of Uttar Pradesh, during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha yesterday, Gandhi urged prime minister Modi not to close down the food park as the poor farmers would suffer due if it was shut down.
The Rs2 billion (Dh114 million) was sanctioned by the previous Congress party-led Manmohan Singh government. The mega food park was expected to create thousands of jobs in underdeveloped Amethi, considered a Congress party stronghold. It was expected to have food processing units for potatoes, sugarcane and other locally produced vegetables and fruits.
“The PM gave a 52-minute speech in Amethi ahead of national elections. I was impressed when he said that he would deliver politics guided by badlaav [change] and not badlaa [vendetta] … but that is exactly what he has done, Gandhi said, adding that the project would have benefited farmers of 10 district of the region. This was the fourth speech made by the 44-year-old Gandhi during the past three weeks in the Lok Sabha since he returned from a two-month long sabbatical last month.
Newfound aggressive brand
Since his return, he has come across as a changed politician who is ready to lead the Congress party from the front with his newfound aggressive brand of politics.
Gandhi has been under pressure from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which often took jibes at him whenever he raised the issues of farmers, particularly in the context of the Modi government’s contentious Land Acquisition Bill. BJP lawmakers questioned him how many times he had visited his constituency after Gandhi met farmers in Punjab and Maharashtra last month.
Gandhi is a three-time lawmaker from Amethi represented in the past by his mother Sonia Gandhi, father Rajiv Gandhi and uncle Sanjay Gandhi.
He feels the decision to scrap the food park project was taken because voters of Amethi stood by him and his party.
“I will look into this case of closure of food park in Amethi. There is no revenge politics in the case. I will personally inform the MP [Gandhi] as well,” Federal Home Minister Rajnath Singh informed the House when Gandhi raised the issue, while promising no injustice will be done to Amethi farmers.
Singh said that no decision to scrap the project was taken. It is facing problems due to pull out of the concerned investor.
The Modi government has announced plans to develop Amethi into a smart city with Wi-Fi, uninterrupted power supply and good roads apart from other facilities. Many believe it is advance preparation to take on Gandhi on his turf from a position of strength in the 2019 general elections.
Gandhi’s speech was interrupted repeatedly by the BJP lawmakers. A handful of Congress party lawmakers tried to shout them back by chanting “shame, shame” when Gandhi talked of vendetta politics.