THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Addressing the sea of humanity comprising UDF and Congress workers which thronged the venue of ‘Padayorukkam’s finale at the Central Stadium here, Congress president-designate Rahul Gandhi on Thursday evening launched an all-out attack on the Narendra Modi-led BJP-NDA Government at the Centre and the LDF Government in the state. According to Rahul, both the dispensations had lost the faith of the people and as such are on their way out.
‘’It is clear just like the Modi Government the state government is not living up to the expectations of the people. I’m sure the state government will be asking itself why the UDF campaign (‘Padayorukkam’) has elicited such overwhelming support .The people in the state are looking forward to a government free from corruption,’’ he said.‘’When I came to the state today, I had mixed feelings.One thing was the Ockhi tragedy and the other was to celebrate the success of ‘Padayorukkam’. I’ve met the cyclone victims and found the government has not risen to the occasion. The government should act as soon as possible. The issues concerning the Ockhi-hit families will be raised by the Congress not only in Kerala but in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha also,’’ he said.
He said Prime minister Narendra Modi is facing a crisis of credibility after three years in the saddle. ‘’People listen to what he says but they don’t believe him anymore. His claims on generating jobs have been belied. This has been revealed by the statement made by a Union Minister in Parliament,” he said. Rahul repeated the Congress charge about the Modi Government’s attempts to wreck the country’s economy beginning from November 8 last year when the note ban was announced.
Trying to rub it in, he referred to GST sarcastically as ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’. ‘’It has devastated the economy.We asked the government to slash the tax slabs and include petrol and diesel in GST as it will bring down the prices and inflation.But the government just refused to pay heed,’’ he said. According to Rahul, Modi had lately stopped making any mention of the fight against corruption.
“We showed the country what BJP president Amit Shah’s son did.In just three months,`50,000 had zoomed to a staggering `80,000 crore in his company. In the Rafael deal also,the PM is mum on the posers,” he said.On the Gujarat poll campaign also, the Congress scion was highly critical of Modi, saying the latter chose to distract people till the end.
Two KSU men hurt in clash
T’Puram: Two activists of the Kerala Students Union (KSU) were injured in a clash between two factions of the outfit on Thursday. The clash reportedly broke out near the MLA Hostel while they were returning after the valedictory function of UDF’s ‘Padayo-rukkam’ rally. Adesah and Najeem, who sustained injuries, were admitted to General Hospital.
‘It’s going to be ‘padayottam’ against state and Centre’
In his keynote address, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, who led ‘Padayorukkam’, said from now on the UDF will be embarking on a ‘paday-ottam’,to bring down the anti-people BJP and LDF Governments at the Centre and the state. Chennithala also said the banners bearing 1.07 crore signatures collected as a sort of referendum against the wrong policies of the state and the Centre during the campaign will be put on display along the Thiruvananthapuram-Kollam stretch on January 20.
Rahul Gandhi has put his signature as the last one in the campaign during the closing function. KPCC president M M Hassan presided. IUML national secretary P K Kunhalikutty MP, AICC general secre-taries, Mukul Wasnik, K C Venugopal MP and former CM Oommen Chandy also addressed the gathering.