Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, addressing a public rally in Jammu on Wednesday, accused the Centre of taking away Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood to “snatch” the rights and resources of the local population with the “objective” to benefit “outsiders”, including by dispensing “contracts” to them, especially to the country’s top “two billionaires”.
Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, addressed a rally at Sangaldan, in Banihal Assembly constituency of Ramban district, which will vote along with 23 other segments in the first phase of the three-phased assembly elections on September 18. It was his first public meeting for the Jammu and Kashmir polls.
In his speech, Gandhi said the opposition INDIA block has “shaken” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “confidence”, “denting” him “psychologically”. He said the PM had earlier opposed the INDIA bloc’s demand for a nationwide census. “Now, the RSS has supported caste census,” Gandhi said. He said that the government rolled back its proposed lateral entry scheme, succumbing to the pressure from the INDIA bloc.
Gandhi alleged that the government in New Delhi is run by Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and their corporate friends. He said the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and demonetisation hurt small businesses to benefit the two billionaires. “In Parliament, I was told not to name Modi’s corporate friends Adani and Ambani, so I have taken to using aliases, such as A1 and A2, for them. This government is akin to ‘hum do, hamare do’ (‘we two, our two’)—Modi and Shah, and Ambani and Adani—these four are running the government,” Gandhi said.
The former Congress president said the PM is “scared”. “Now he holds a copy of the Constitution on his head as he enters Parliament,” Gandhi said, adding that the electorate has reminded Modi, who had claimed to be “non-biological” with a direct connection with God, that God listens to the common people and he should too.
The Congress leader said the Congress-National Conference alliance is set to form the government in Jammu and Kashmir and will pressurise the Centre to restore the union territory’s statehood and ensure that the resources are used for the welfare of locals. He said the next government will ensure that contracts are given to locals. He promised that the next government will fill government vacancies and increase wages. “Joblessness in Jammu and Kashmir is worse than what it is across the country,” Gandhi said, accusing Modi of indulging in politics of optics but doing little to solve the unemployment crisis.
First Published: Sep 04 2024 | 4:41 PM IST
