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Journalism of Courage
Narendra Modi would not have become the Prime Minister had the Congress not kept democracy alive, said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in his first political rally ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections Sunday.
“If the Congress would not have done anything in 70 years, then in this democracy, you would not have become the Prime Minister. This is given by the Congress. We might have lost but kept alive the (Indian) Constitution and democracy. Due to works done by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr BR Ambedkar, democracy is alive in the country today,” Kharge said in Ahmedabad’s Bapunagar area.
He questioned the repeated visits of Modi to the poll-bound state. “The PM is leaving aside all his national and international work and spending time in Gujarat. This shows there is something wrong here. Why are all their ministers visiting Gujarat?” he said.
Gujarat AICC incharge Raghu Sharma and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, too, questioned the repeated visits of PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. If they had done good work and development in Gujarat, why are they worried and spending more days in the state along with the central ministers, the Congress leaders asked.
Kharge also took a jibe at the double-engine government slogan of the BJP. “Your double-engine has failed. One engine is down and the other is not working. That is why you are changing three CMs in five years.”
He appealed to the voters to not go by the words and fake promises of a party that has divided every community. “You are selling PSUs set up by Congress in order to make a few of your friends richer and the poor poorer. They say we have humiliated Sardar (Vallabhbhai) Patel and Ambedkar, were they yours? Who banned the RSS? It was Sardar Patel, Nehru ji and Dr Ambedkar who did that,” he added.
Hinting at anti-incumbency, Sharma said, “There is an undercurrent in Gujarat as people have decided to change the the deaf and dumb government that has strangulated the common man. People from all communities are fed up with the BJP.”
Giving the example of Rajasthan, Sharma said, “In Rajasthan, too, there are 33 districts, of which 31 have government hospitals. We have implemented the employment guarantee scheme. Also, the old pension scheme is there in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh”. Targeting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), he said: “(Arvind) Kejriwal of AAP, which is a B team of the BJP, is lying. They have come only to divide the votes. People are fed up in Punjab within eight months.”
Seeking votes for Bapunagar Congress candidate Himmatsinh Patel, Gehlot said: “I appeal to you not to trust the AAP. What agreement has been made between the BJP and AAP, it is beyond my understanding”.
The Rajasthan Chief Minister also claimed that the BJP’s Gaurav Yatra—a state-wide campaign held to promote the government’s achievements—was a failure. “People are not attending their meetings and have decided to change the government. If you change the government in Gujarat, it will be a favour for the entire country. The PM and Home Minister will introspect why they were defeated and…take remedial steps and thus, bring in some changes in the country.”
