Nava Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Sep 2: In a blitzkrieg against the saffron camp in general and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular, erstwhile Congress president Rahul Gandhi alleged on Saturday that the BJP is spewing the venom of hatred and violence across the country even as Modi is only working towards benefiting Gautam Adani plus a couple of other business tycoons.
“The BJP is pitting one faith against the other, creating a chasm between castes and erecting a language barrier. They did precisely this in Manipur, Assam and other places. Their job is to divide the populace in stark contrast to our mission of uniting the masses and setting up a shop of affection in a market of hostility,” the visiting leader also alleged while addressing the Rajiv Yuva Mitan Sammelan here.
Firing a broadside at the “Modi-Adani” nexus, Gandhi said, “Recently, the world’s largest financial newspaper published an article stating that Adani – who is close to Modi – has siphoned off thousands of crores from Bharat to overseas destinations and used it for enhancing the value of his stock. Your capital, your infrastructure including airports – and I hear even railway stations – are already being or will be handed over to him.”
The Congress stalwart stressed that Modi should make public why no inquiry is being ordered against Adani.
“Whose money was it that exited India? The Prime Minister cannot institute a probe against Adani as the outcome will not cause a loss to Adani but someone else. Modi had falsely promised that black money stashed abroad would be brought back and Rs 15 lakh deposited in every citizen’s account,” he underlined.
“Wherever I go, I ask youths what is the biggest obstacle in their path and the response is invariably unemployment. The BJP shattered the economic backbone of the country, small traders were ruined by GST and demonetisation,” he alleged.
In the context of the Karnataka victory, Gandhi said that the BJP’s familiar “number game” proved futile as every indigent voter supported the Congress.
“The youth of Chhattisgarh have a major responsibility. Lakhs of youngsters have been linked with Rajiv Yuva Mitan clubs. We desire to open the doors of the political sphere for you so that legislators and other leaders emerge. The word adivasi means the original owners of Hindustan. You enjoy a right to land, forests and water. We want tribal youths to fulfil their dreams of becoming doctors, engineers, lawyers, judges or businesspersons.
The BJP coined the word vanvasi. They want that you to reside in jungles only,” he said during his 22-minute-long speech.
In Gandhi’s words, the purpose of his Bharat Jodo Yatra was to disseminate the centuries-old message of harmonious co-existence – a message that “is contained in the DNA” of the country and the Congress.
He exhorted the gathering to utilise Chhattisgarh’s favourable geographical location for readying infrastructure vis-à-vis converting the state into the country’s logistics and processing centre for goods passing through.
Among the dignitaries who graced the occasion were Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Congress state In-charge General Secretary Kumari Selja.
