AHMEDABAD: Back from vacation, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday landed in the tribal-dominated Dahod in north-eastern Gujarat and accused PM Modi of creating two Indias, one for the rich and another for the poor.
The former Congress chief charged the Centre with handing over resources of the country to a few
wealthy people.
The upshot of the rally was the presence of Hardik Patel, the sulking state party working president. The Patidar leader has let his resentment against the state leaders known.
The party has said Rahul was in touch with Patel, but the latter has denied any such communication.
While addressing the party’s Adivasi Satyagraha rally, Rahul slammed the Centre on a range of issue beginning demonetization, GST, Covid-19, and MNREGA.
“PM Modi made fun of (rural job guarantee scheme) MNREGA in the Lok Sabha. Think of it – had MNREGA not been there, what would have happened to the poor at the time of the Covid pandemic?”
He asked the tribal communities to take part in Congress satyagraha, saying the proposed Par Tapi Narmada river-linking project will be scrapped if the Congress government is formed in Gujarat.
The tribals from Valsad, Navsari, Tapi, and Surat districts are strongly opposed to the project and have held a series of protests saying their lands were being taken over.
Later, Rahul danced to a song with the tribal tune ‘Congress Party Re Congress Party.’ Congress MLA Chandrikaben Baria joined him on the stage as the Congress leader was seen raising his hands with her.
This is the first public rally of the Congress party in Gujarat in the run-up to the 2022 state elections, due in December.
"In 2014, Narendra Modi ji became the prime minister of India. Before that, he was the chief minister of Gujarat. The work he started in Gujarat, he is doing in the country. It is called the Gujarat Model," Gandhi said.
"Today, two Indias are being created, one India of the rich, a few select people, billionaires and bureaucrats who have power and money. The second India is of the common people," he said.
The Congress party does not want two Indias but equality for everyone, he said.
Gandhi said Congress wanted proper distribution of resources for everyone, which it had ensured when in power in the past.
"In the BJP model, people's resources such as water, forest and land which belong to tribals and other poor people, are being given to a few," he said.
The Congress leader also said that the BJP-led government in Gujarat had deprived tribals of their rights.
"The BJP government will not give you anything, but take away everything from you. You (tribals) have to snatch your rights and then only you will get what is yours," he said.
Gandhi said that tribal people worked hard to build roads, bridges, buildings and infrastructure in Gujarat but didn't get anything in return, including good education and health service.
He also slammed PM Modi over handling the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
"During the pandemic, the prime minister told you to bang pots and pans (from balconies) and flash your mobile lights when three lakh people died in Gujarat. The Ganga river was filled up with bodies. Between 50 to 60 lakh people died in the country due to coronavirus," he alleged.
"You did not get oxygen, you did not get medicine, you were treated outside hospitals as no space was available and they told you to bang pots and pans," Gandhi said.
He alleged that only a few people run the Central government and the people are silent and scared.
"For 24 hours, the media keeps distracting, showing the photo of Narendra Modi, or any actor, actresses, but will say nothing about the truth," he said.
Referring to the three-month jail sentence handed to independent MLA Jignesh Mevani for holding a protest March, Gandhi said, "It is only in Gujarat that you can be sentenced to jail for protesting."
"There are lakhs of youth like Jignesh Mevani who understand truth. Who knows about the Gujarat model of Narendra Modi? I would like to tell them that there is a need for a new Gujarat. It is a matter of your future. You want jobs, education, and health which they will not provide to you. They only know to sell your future to a few billionaires," the former Congress president said.
"The youth of Gujarat, whether they are Adivasis, Dalits, you will have to fight together. Congress party is with you 24 hours," he said.
Gandhi also said that Congress wanted to revive the old "cooperative model", which he described as the "model of the people" and "of Amul where the voice of the public runs the government".
He promised the immediate withdrawal of the controversial Par-Tapi river link project if his party is voted to power.
"Here, large statues, Tapi river link projects are made, and your water is snatched away from you and given to the billionaire, and you get no benefit. I want to tell you clearly that once the Congress party wins an election here, we will scrap the river link project," Gandhi said.
The Congress leader further said "jal, jungle, and jameen" do not belong to a handful of industrialists but the people of the country, and also spoke about the erstwhile UPA government's commitment to take benefits to the people through PESA, NREGA, and Land Acquisition Act.
"PM Modi had mocked MNREGA in Parliament, saying he wants to scrap it but will not do so to remind the country of what Congress did. Had MNREGA not been around during COVID-19, you know what would have happened to the country. The BJP is running the same programme today," he said.
Gandhi also spoke about the works done by the Congress governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and said that the party will fulfil the promises once it forms a government in Gujarat.
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal had separately addressed rallies in tribal-dominated areas in Gujarat.
However, the BJP on Tuesday accused Gandhi of disrespecting Mahatma Gandhi by refusing to wear a garland made of cotton threads offered to him by Gujarat Congress leaders at the Vadodara airport and "discarding" it.
After he landed at the airport, Rahul Gandhi was offered a garland of 'sutar ni aati' (cotton threads) made by spinning charkha by local Congress leaders.
However, he refused to wear the garland and took it in his hand from a local leader.
A video showed Rahul Gandhi purportedly putting this garland on the railing of the staircase at the airport.
BJP leaders tweeted clips of Rahul Gandhi and demanded that Congress apologise for his actions.
"Mahatma Gandhi had started a social revolution by using charkha (spinning wheel) and 'sutar ni aati' was his favourite. By ignoring it, the Congress leader has shown that he has no respect for Gandhiji," BJP spokesperson Yamal Vyas alleged.
Vadodara's former mayor and Gujarat BJP co-spokesperson Bharat Dangar tweeted a video clip of Rahul Gandhi purportedly putting the garland of thread on the railing of the staircase of the airport.
"Rahul Gandhi, the heir of those who adopted the Gandhi surname for obtaining power, did not wear the cotton thread but threw it on the staircase. This is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi. Congress should apologise,": Dangar twitted.
On the other hand, Congress dismissed the incident as a "non-issue".
"Rahul Gandhi or any other Congressmen has a deep respect for Mahatma Gandhi. We are followers of Gandhiji and not of (Nathuram) Godse like the BJP. This is a non-issue which the BJP is trying to rake up," Congress spokesperson Hemang Rawal said.
Speaking on the incident, Rawal said Rahul Gandhi accepted the 'sutar ni ati'.
"But what was its use after accepting it. He has shown no disregard," the Congress spokesperson said.
Rahul Gandhi addressed a tribal rally at Dahod earlier in the day.
Traditionally, the Congress party and Gandhians (followers of Mahatma Gandhi) in Gujarat welcome people by offering them a garland of cotton threads instead of the one made up of flowers.
The BJP, however, uses only floral garlands and bouquets.
Congress focuses on tribal votes in two states
NEW DELHI: As its rivals are actively wooing tribal voters, the Congress is looking to focus on tribal belts to strengthen its core votebank in election-bound Gujarat and Rajasthan.
While Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Dahod tried to woo tribals, the Gandhis on May 16 will address a rally in Rajasthan’s Banswara to send a message that the party stands with tribals.
In Gujarat, where the faction-ridden Congress is trying to put its own house in order, the BJP is focusing on tribal areas while Chotubhai Vasava’s Bhartiya Tribal Party along with the AAP are working to make inroads into its stronghold.
The party’s plan to hold a rally in Banswada, Rajasthan on May 16 after the culmination of Chintan Shivir is also seen as a move to woo the tribals. The rally is likely to be addressed by the three Gandhis.
(With Inputs from Richa Sharma and Agencies)