Culture and history of Northeast under attack from BJP-RSS: Rahul Gandhi

He was critical of the Modi government for waiving off the loans of a section of industrialists including Anil Ambani. 
Congress​ chief Rahul Gandhi​ (File | EPS)
Congress​ chief Rahul Gandhi​ (File | EPS)

GUWAHATI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged the cultures, languages and lifestyles of the people of Northeast were under attack from the BJP-RSS. 

“Dangerous attacks are being carried out in Northeast. The history, languages and lifestyles of people in Northeast are under attack from the BJP-RSS. Arunachal Pradesh burnt. There are attacks in Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland. They haven’t spared a single state,” Gandhi alleged in his speech at a rally in Guwahati.

He continued in the same vein: “Two youth from Arunachal sustained bullet injuries (during Sunday’s violence in Itanagar). In Haryana, the fight is between Jats and non-Jats. In Maharashtra, people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are being driven out. In Delhi, people from Northeast are being threatened. Women are beaten up in Bangalore. The reason is RSS fans hatred. Our ideology is to unite India”.

Gandhi said there are two ideologies in the country. One that is espoused by the BJP-RSS and (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi is of anger and violence while the Congress ideology is based on love and brotherhood, he said.

“Ever since the Modi government was installed and the BJP formed government in Assam and some states in Northeast, they started attacking your history and culture. The Congress will protect your history, cultures and languages. It will give a befitting reply to the BJP, Narendra Modi and Mohan Bhagwat,” Gandhi told the crowd. 

He committed that the Congress would restore the special status to Assam and the North East Industrial Policy which the Modi government had “snatched” away. He also promised that if voted to power, the Congress would reopen two paper mills in Assam, address the problem of flood as a national commitment, make Assam the hub of technical education in Northeast and ensure no genuine Indian citizen is left out of National Register of Citizens.

“Unemployment is the biggest problem of the country. Modiji brags about Start-up India and Make in India, but he can give jobs to only one lakh youth a year in the country which is about 450 jobs a day,” Gandhi said.

He said the Congress had promised to waive off the loans of farmers in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh within ten days and the party did it in two days since forming the government in the three states.

“The other day in Parliament, I heard BJP members thumping on the desks for several minutes when Piyush Goelji announced a scheme whereby poor farmers will be given Rs.17 a day which comes to around Rs.3.5 per person. We will show how to clap. We have decided that if we win the polls, which we will, we will ensure minimum income guarantee. Under this, money will be directly deposited in the bank accounts of the poor,” Gandhi said.

He was critical of the Modi government for waiving off the loans of a section of industrialists including Anil Ambani.

“The debt-ridden farmers are crying and committing suicides. The parents of lakhs of students are going through difficult times in repaying educational loans. Modiji cannot waive off their loans but he can waive off loans, amounting to Rs.3.5 lakh crore, of 15 industrialists,” the Congress president said. 
 

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