Thursday, Apr 25, 2024 | Last Update : 12:03 PM IST
As Rahul Gandhi attacks Modi, Congress leaders join BJP
Rahul Gandhi accused the PM of impinging upon the autonomy of vital institutions like the RBI.
New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in poll-bound Uttarakhand on Monday, but his campaign to retain power in the hill state suffered a jolt on the same day when party veteran Yashpal Arya joined the BJP.
Mr Arya, former Congress president in Uttarakhand, joined the saffron fold with his son Sanjiv Arya, and they would contest from Bajpur and Nainital, respectively. Former Congress legislator Kedar Singh Rawat also joined the BJP.
Addressing an election rally in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, which goes to polls on February 14, Mr Gandhi charged the PM with trying to impose his face on everything. Citing a recent Khadi and Village Industries Commission diary controversy as an instance where Mahatma Gandhi’s face was “replaced” by that of PM Modi, he said if things went on like this, the day was not far when Ramlilas would be staged with actors wearing PM Modi’s mask instead of Lord Ram’s.
“Modiji wants the rule of one person. He wants his voice to drown out all other voices,” he said.
Mr Gandhi accused the PM of impinging upon the autonomy of vital institutions like the RBI. He said, “RBI was created as an institution which would work independently, free from all political pressures. However, a letter was shot off to the RBI governor (Urjit Patel) just a day before demonetisation, saying that Modiji had taken a decision to withdraw the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes from circulation.”
Mr Gandhi also showed his torn kurta pocket to a cheering crowd and said, “Mera kurta phata hua hai...lekin Modiji ka kurta kabhi phata hua nahi milta. Bade paisewalon ke saath unki photo milegi (See, my kurta pocket is torn, but you’ll never find Modiji wearing a torn kurta. He can only be spotted with the rich and powerful).”
Alleging that Mr Modi’s professed commitment to khadi was fake, he said a R15 lakh suit and charkha could not go together. Mr Gandhi said that charkha stood for promotion of cottage and handicraft industries, and that if Mr Modi’s commitment to khadi was real, he would not have worked ‘day in and day out’ for 50 chosen industrialists.
Attacking BJP’s ideological parent RSS, Mr Gandhi alleged that it had not unfurled the national flag at its headquarters in Nagpur for 52 years. RSS should be asked why it did not do so, he asked, adding that the saffron outfit had “no respect” for the national flag.
