Rahul said BJP leaders were free to carry out personalised attacks against him.
Rahul said BJP leaders were free to carry out personalised attacks against him.
New Delhi:
Linking the Rohith Vemula and Kanhaiya Kumar issues with rights of the marginalised, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the Narendra Modi government of -"crushing-" the weak and the poor who demand their rights.
He also said Union ministers and BJP leaders were free to carry out personalised attacks against him but they should not -"crush the poor and the weak for whom I speak.-"
-"Tribals from Bastar met me today. They said they are facing atrocities in Chhattisgarh's Bastar and that they are being threatened and crushed.
-"Country will not benefit by beating and threatening people. You pressurised Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad, here you are pressurising Kanhaiya and our students,-" the Congress Vice President told reporters here.
He alleged that wherever the poor is seeking rights, -"be it farmer, dalit, tribal or small trader --small traders came to me -- wherever a weak person is raising voice, NDA government, Modi government is trying to crush it.-"
These people are the strength of India and no one will benefit by crushing them, he said.
-"If you have to take action, do it. Those who break law, take action. But by crushing, threatening and beating the poor won't help the country,-" Rahul said.
In an apparent reference to Modi's remarks in the Lok Sabha that -"some people age but do not mature-", Rahul said the PM and his Cabinet colleagues are free to attack him. -"Modi attacked me personally. His party colleagues are attacking me personally on a daily basis,-" he said.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley recently took a dig at the Congress Vice-President over his Lok Sabha speech and said -"the more I hear Rahul Gandhi, the more I start wondering how much does he know when will he know-".
-"As one evolves from a young to a middle-aged one, we certainly expect a certain level of maturity,-" Jaitley had said in a Facebook post reacting to Gandhi's remarks that Prime Minister Modi does not consult his senior ministers on policy issues.
-"Do as much personal attacks as you want. But don't crush the poor, the weak for whom I speak. Hit me as much you want. Attack me as much you want. Speak for as long as you want to, but don't hit the poor people of the country,-" Rahul stressed.
