Gujarat elections: Rahul Gandhi slams ‘Modi model’, lists 10 villages where land acquired was given to Tata and Adani

As the audience cheered him on, the Congress president-to-be said the Tata Nano project was given “your water, your power, your money and your land”. He said the company that is manufacturing just two Nanos a day would “stop production of the vehicle” in the coming days. “Go to any of these five villages or any of the nearby ones and ask how many people got employment in the Tata Nano factory. Not a single person got jobs…This is Modiji’s model,” he said. The irony was not lost on the crowd. Mehsana is a Patidar-dominated constituency and community has been up in arms against the government over reservation in jobs.

Gandhi then went on to give a second instance and listed more five villages where he claimed Modi snatched 45,000 hectares of land and sold it to Adani at throwaway prices. “There is a list of five more villages in Kutch – Mundra, Baroni, Luni, Tunda, Siracha – where Modiji snatched 45,000 hectares and others – I have a long list, which I do not want to read out. Do you know at what rate Modiji gave the land to Adaniji? One metre land for one rupee. You go to any corner of the country, you will not get land at that rate. But if your name is Adaniji, then in Gujarat you will get land at that rate,” the Gandhi scion said.

Gandhi said in just three months, the same land was sold by Adani to the government at Rs 3,000 per metre and was acquired by IOCL and HPCL. “In just three months, the same land was sold by Adani to government companies at the cost of Rs 3,000 per metre. The companies are IOCL and HPCL. This is Modiji’s model,” he said.

Gandhi claimed the Congress party and “the truth of Gujarat” have “gheraoed” the PM during campaigning in the state. “Today, nobody is happy in Gujarat. Even Narendra Modiji is not happy in Gujarat,” Gandhi said, listing out how Patidars, backward castes, teachers, anganwadi workers, health workers and adivasis were agitating against the BJP-ruled government.

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Gandhi said PM Modi’s earlier speeches during election campaign were on issues of development, jobs, bullet train, corruption and similar issues. “You might have seen Modiji’s speech on Friday. For the first time in the elections, Modi neither talked about the future of Gujarat, nor corruption, jobs, farmers. Modiji just talked about Narendra Modi,” Gandhi said.

The Congress leader, who has been attacking the BJP for not relasing its manifesto (which it eventually did on eve of first phase of polls), said the elections were about the future of the people of Gujarat and not about himself or Modi. “This election is not about you (Modi). It is not about me either. It is not about BJP or Congress. This is about the future of people of Gujarat and if you give speeches then speak about the future of the people. I understand you cannot speak much about the 22-year rule, but at least tell the people what you will do in the next five years,” Gandhi said.

Gandhi then went on to say how the Congress had held about 200-odd meetings with different stakeholders for 3-4 months before finalising the manifesto for Gujarat polls. He said the BJP manifesto was quickly put together on the eve of elections in the “office of Arun Jaitley”. “Our manifesto echoes the voice of Gujarat,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi also asked the audience if Modiji provided the Minimum Support Price (MSP) that he had promised for cotton and groundnut farmers. When the audience replied in negative, Gandhi said, “Look at all of Modiji’s speeches, he will not talk about cotton or groundnut.” Gandhi reiterated that Congress would form the government in Gujarat “and within 10-days our new CM will start work on providing loan waivers for farmers of the state”. He also.promised free education for girls, guaranteed MSPs for farmers and affordable health care.

“Our government is going to come.and it is my responsibility to see that every single worker who has worked for Congress party will be a part of the government and their voices will be heard. Now you go and fight the BJP. The issues are with you,” said Gandhi.