PM’s ‘Hindu dharam ki raksha’ remark a lie: Rahul in Varanasi

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He was accompanied by AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Both the leaders also paid obeisance at the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

“Priyanka ne kaha ki dharam par vote padta hai, mujhe bata do Hindu dharam kya hai…Hindu dharam sachai hai, satya hai (Priyanka said that votes are cast in the name of religion…you tell me what is Hindu dharma…truth it is),” he said.

“Modiji aate hain, jhooth bol jaate hain aur phir kehte hain maine Hindu dharam ki baat ki…mein Hindu dharam ki raksha karta hoon…aap Hindu dharam ki raksha nahi karte ho, aap jhooth ki raksha karte ho, gareeb, kisaan, mazdoor ke nahi karte ho apni kursi bachane ke liye (Modiji comes, tells lies and then claims what he does to protect the Hindu religion, but the fact is that he only protects his lies. He does not protect the poor, farmers or labours, but only his lies to save his chair),” Rahul said.

He also listed out the promises and announcements made by the Prime Minister that never materialised. He said the PM Modi doesn’t talk about what happened to the “crores of jobs” that he had promised for the youth in 2014 or giving Rs 15 lakh to every citizen of the country by bringing back the black money or increasing farmers’ income, while urging the gathering to keep all these issues in mind. The former Congress chief said that he can die but won’t speak a lie to woo the voters.

He also targeted the Samajwadi Party with which the Congress was in alliance in the 2017 polls, alleging “goonda gardi in police stations” during its rule in the state. Rahul termed the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) as the “B team” of the BJP, adding that the party is “finished”.

In her brief speech, Priyanka reaffirmed her party’s resolve to promote women-centric agenda if the Congress is voted to power.