‘Sharm aani chahiye’: Rahul rebukes Sam Pitroda again
Whatever happened in 1984 was wrong, culprits will be punished, says Congress president
Facing a blistering attack from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over his party leader Sam Pitroda’s ‘hua to hua’ remark on anti-Sikh riots, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday said whatever happened in 1984 was absolutely wrong, adding that the culprits should and will be punished.
The Congress chief also rebuked Pitroda, Congress’ overseas unit chief, saying he should be “ashamed” for his “totally wrong” remarks and should apologise to the country.
“My sentiments are with you. Sam Pitroda should publicly apologise for his remark. Sharm aani chahiye (he should be ashamed of himself),” Rahul said at Khanna, his first poll rally in Punjab.
The BJP has stepped up offensive against the Congress over Pitroda’s remarks as the 1984 riots is an emotive issue in Punjab which is going to poll on May 19.
Repeating his ‘chowkidar chor hai’ jibe, Rahul said Modi spoke a lie prior to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls promising to deposit Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of the poor. “I don’t lie and I will not promise such an amount. But I can assure that under the NYAY (Nyunatam Aay Yojana) scheme, we will be depositing Rs
My sentiments are with you. Sam Pitroda should publicly apologise for his remark. Sharm aani chahiye (he should be ashamed of himself). RAHUL GANDHI, Congress president, at Khanna rally.
72,000 in accounts of five crore families and the beneficiaries will be women,” he said.
Rahul also tried to woo the voters by promising a separate budget for farmers and assured steps to revive the industry in the towns of Khanna and Mandi Gobindgarh.
In Hoshiarpur, while addressing a rally in the favour of party nominee, Raj Kumar Chabbewal, Rahul also slammed Modi for demonetisation and the “Gabbar Singh Tax” (Congress’ expansion for the term GST), describing them as two “horrific things” brought in by the BJP government. “These decisions adversely hit the purchasing capacity of the people and rendered lakhs jobless,” he said.
Rahul also promised that the Congress will give 33% reservation to women in government jobs, parliament and state assemblies as well.
› Aapka naam kya hai? Gurmeet Ji aapke account mein Modi ji ne (₹)15 lakh daale? Line mei khare thae aap? Us line mei Ambani ko dekha? RAHUL GANDHI, Congress president
LUDHIANA: A seat reserved on stage for Congress Rajya Sabha member Shamsher Singh Dullo remained vacant during the Rahul Gandhi rally as the leader failed to turn up.
Dullo’s residence is at a stone’s throw distance from the rally venue.
His absence led to speculations that Dullo is hiding as his son Bandeep Singh Dullo is contesting from the same constituency (Fatehgarh Sahib) on an AAP ticket.
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Amarjeet Singh Tikka said it is clear that Shamsher didn’t want to face senior party leaders.
RAHUL RECEIVES ROUSING WELCOME
Amid cheers and slogans, Congress president Rahul Gandhi received a rousing welcome on his maiden visit to Khanna as thousands braved the heat to attend the rally.
An eager and all-enthusiastic crowd which had thronged the venue from remote villages of the state and comprised women in large numbers were elated when Rahul called out to a select few by their names in his speech.
INTERACTIVE SPEECH
“Aapka naam kya hai?” he asked one from the crowd. On getting the reply that his name is Gurmeet, Rahul addressed him by his first name.
“Gurmeet Ji aapke account mein Modi ji ne (₹)15 lakh daale?” On receiving a negative reply, Rahul asked him how much money has been taken away by Narendra Modi from him.
Rahul then went on to flay the Prime Minister for forcing the common man to stand in queues in the sun and upsetting every individual in the country through his demonetisation move.
“Line mei khare thae aap? Us line mei Ambani ko dekha? (you were in a queue, did you see Ambani in the queue)?” he said.
Similarly, while winding up his speech, Rahul asked one of the women her name and told her that she will get ₹72,000 under the NYAY scheme which will be implemented once Congress forms the government at the Centre.