NEW DELHI: On the very day when the Congress is to kick-off its 2019 Lok Sabha campaign from the Prime Minister's home turf with its Working Committee meeting in Ahmedabad, Narendra Modi took to his blog to tell the nation that it was Mahatma Gandhi who wanted to disband the grand old party just after Independence.
Marking the 89th year of the iconic Dandi March that was launched by Gandhi and 80 satyagrahis in 1930 on the day, Modi said the grand old party is nothing but "the perfect antithesis to what 'Bapu' stood for".
Hailing Gandhi whose "handful of salt shook the British Empire" as he set out on foot for the coastal village of Dandi from Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat, Modi said: "Though aimed at protesting unfair Salt Laws, Dandi March shook the foundations of colonial rule and became a strong symbol of fighting injustice and inequality."
In a conversational approach to his blog readers, Modi said: "Did you know who had a key role in the planning of the Dandi March? The great Sardar Patel", who, he said, had a key role in planning "every minute aspect" of the 390km March, "down to the last detail". The Congress have accuses the Bharatiya Janata Party of trying to appropriate Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the nation's first home minister.
"In many of his works, Gandhiji said that he does not believe in inequality and caste divisions. Sadly, Congress has never hesitated from dividing society. The worst caste riots and anti-Dalit massacres happened under Congress rule," Modi ripped the Congress apart listing a point-by-point contrast of Gandhi's thoughts and "Congress culture".
Gandhi, said the Prime Minister, had understood the Congress culture very well, "which is why he wanted the Congress disbanded, especially after 1947".
Modi praised his government's efforts to punish the corrupt and accused Congress of being a synonym of corruption. "Name the sector and there will be a Congress scam - from Defence, Telecom, Irrigation, Sporting events to Agriculture, Rural Development and more."
"The Congress misused Article 356 several times. If they did not like a leader, that Government was dismissed. Always eager to promote dynastic culture, Congress has no regard for democratic values," he added.
"Gandhiji had understood the Congress culture very well, which is why he wanted the Congress disbanded, especially after 1947. He lamented, 'I am sorry to have to say that many Congressmen have looked upon this item (Swaraj) as a mere political necessity and not as something indispensable'."
Modi quoted Gandhi as saying that Congress leaders were only busy making communal adjustments. In 1937 itself the father of the Nation said: "I would go to the length of giving the whole Congress a decent burial, rather than put up with the corruption that is rampant."
The Prime Minister ended his blog hailing his own government at the Centre that he said "is working on Bapu's path and a Jan Shakti that is fulfilling his dream of freeing India from the Congress Culture!"