PATNA: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “God has sent me” remark, alleging that the PM made the statement to purportedly avoid the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s questions about industrialists after the Lok Sabha elections.
“When my mother was alive, I used to believe that I was born biologically. After she passed away, upon reflecting on all my experiences, I was convinced that God has sent me for a purpose. Once the purpose is achieved, my work will be done. This is why I have completely dedicated myself to God,” PM Modi told a news channel recently.
Rahul, along with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and other leaders of INDIA bloc partners, addressed election rallies in Bakhtiyarpur and Paliganj (Patna) and Jagdishpur in Bhojpur district and sought votes for the alliance candidates.
“You know why he (Modi) has brought this story of ‘Parmatma’ (God)? Because after the Lok Sabha elections, when the ED will ask questions to Narendra Modi, he will say, ‘I don’t know, I was asked to do so by ‘Parmatma’,” Rahul said while addressing a rally in Patna Sahib Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar. Congress has pitted Anshul Avijit from Patna Sahib against veteran parliamentarian and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is seeking his re-election from the seat, a BJP bastion.
In 2014 and 2019, Shatrughna Singh of BJP had won the elections. “Stop these long speeches and dividing the country. First, tell me in the past ten years, how many jobs have you provided to the people of Bihar and the country,” Gandhi asserted.
“You can note it down that Narendra Modi is not going to become the PM for the next term,” he said amid applause from the crowd. He claimed that there is a ‘toofan’ (wave) in favour of ‘INDIA’ bloc in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
The Congress leader also launched a blistering attack on Modi over raging controversy on reservations and reiterated that the INDIA bloc would conduct a caste census after coming to power.
“Why does the PM identify himself as an OBC when he claims there are only two castes. When I raised the issue of caste census, Modi said, there are only two castes in India—rich and poor. If there are only two castes, how he (Modi) could be an OBC,” he asked while addressing an election rally in Bhojpur.
Gandhi said that backwards constituted 50 per cent of the country’s population, 15 per cent Dalits and 8 per cent Adivasis. He said that they (Opposition) raked up the issue of the caste-based census as the country should know the exact number of backwards, Dalits, Adivasis and minorities.
He said that an economic census would also be conducted, adding that the 50 per cent reservation cap would also be removed. “As soon as I stated this, Narendra Modi said that there are only two castes in the country. If that’s so, how did you become an OBC?” he added.
Caste census
The Congress leader launched a blistering attack on PM Modi over controversy on quota and reiterated that INDIA bloc would conduct a caste census after coming to power. “Why does PM identify himself as an OBC when he claims there are only two castes,” he said.