Don’t need lessons from RSS, BJP on patriotism, says Rahul
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday sharpened his attacks on the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for questioning his patriotism
“Patriotism is in my blood. I do not need a certificate of patriotism from them. I have lost two members of my family for the country. I, the Congress and party president Sonia Gandhi are not afraid of anybody. We will defeat them in all the state assembly elections,” said Rahul Gandhi who arrived for a twoday visit to his constituency.
He addressed a series of corner meetings, going from village to village and stopped at the house of a dalit to have tea here.
Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not fulfilling promises made during the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Gandhi said: “The PM does not speak about his promises now. He should either fulfil the promises or step out of the way. He repeated the same promises in the Bihar election. The people should keep in mind that the PM does not speak the truth – the youth in Bihar did realise this and turned the PM away. He will meet the same fate in Assam and in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The PM will come to UP close to the assembly elections and the people will turn him away here as well.”
Referring to Varanasi being listed among India’s dirtiest cities, Rahul Gandhi said: “The PM’s constituency Varanasi has a low cleanliness rating. His words are hollow.”
Taking pot shots at the Modi government for not fulfilling the promise to bring back black money from abroad and give Rs 15 lakh to each citizen, he jumped into a pit that women MNREGA workers were digging and said, “So, you too did not get Rs 15 lakh that the PM prom- ised. When he or any other BJP leader comes here, tell them why MNREGA is important to you.”
He attacked the NDA government at the centre and the SP government in UP, saying working for the people had become difficult during these regimes.
“We try to exert pressure on the SP government to get your work done. But if you want us to bring about change in Amethi, Rae Bareli and UP, get a Congress government formed in the state,” he said.
The Congress vice-president accused the PM of working in the interests of select industrialists. ‘Make in India’ was nothing but a means to transfer the land of the poor to the rich, he claimed. ARHAR DAL AND ACHHE DIN
Asking about the prices of ‘arhar dal’ (pigeon pea), which have risen in the recent past, he said this was how ‘achhe din’ had come. The gathering, in turn, claimed they were facing ‘bure din’ (bad days) after installation of the NDA government at the centre.
Criticising Modi for his selfies with diginitaries, he asked the locals: “Have you seen any selfie of the PM with a farmer or a poor?” The Amethi MP also interacted with students at two schools, asking them the difference in the level of education in a government and a private school. He offered puja at Sri Ma Van Devi temple in ‘Pahargarh’ area of Amethi.