JAIPUR: Comparing Mahatma Gandhi and his killer Nathuram Godse, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi made a withering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP-RSS combine, denouncing them over religious ideologies, farmer issues and inflation at a party rally here on Sunday.
Stressing on the difference between a Hindu and ‘Hindutvawadi’, Rahul said a Hindu lives in search of the truth, while a Hindutvawadi lives to grab power by whatever means it takes. “Mahatma Gandhi was a Hindu and Nathuram Godse was a Hindutvawadi,” he said, to highlight the difference. Rahul said India was a country of Hindus and not of the Hindutvawadis.
“Two living beings cannot have a single soul, likewise, two words cannot have the same meaning. In today’s politics in the country, there is a fight between the two words — Hindu and Hindutvawadi. You and I are Hindu but not Hindutvawadi,” Rahul said.
“Whatever may happen, a Hindu searches for the truth, his path is satyagraha. Mahatma Gandhi wrote ‘My Experiments with Truth’ and at the end a Hindutvawadi pumped three bullets in his chest. Hindutvawadi spends the entire life striving for power; his path is not satyagraha but satta- (power) graha,” Rahul said, amid loud clapping at a stadium overflowing with people.
“Since 2014, there is the rule of the Hindutvawadi, not of the Hindus. Is it not true?” Rahul asked the crowd, which replied in the affirmative. Rahul said the country’s entire wealth was now controlled by 4-5 capitalists, all institutions were controlled by “one organisation” and the RSS men were ministers’ OSDs. “We have to remove these Hindutvawadis and bring in the rule of Hindus. And, who is a Hindu? He who loves all, embraces all and who fears none and who respects all religions,” he added.
As the crowd cheered, Rahul continued, “Read any of our scriptures, be it Ramayana, Mahabharata, Gita or Upanishads, show me where is it written that a poor or a weak is to be killed or crushed? Krishna did not ask Arjuna to kill his brothers for power but for the truth.”
The Congress leader said the country was facing inflation because of Hindutvawadis who wanted power even if that required working for a handful of capitalists. “India’s 1% population holds 33% wealth, 10% population holds 65% wealth and the poorest 50% population has just 6% wealth. Narendra Modi ji has left them poorer using his tools like ‘notebandi’, GST and the three black laws against farmers. Earlier, the unorganised sector’s share was 52%, now it is 20%, and 90% of the corporate profit goes to 20 companies.” Rahul said that employment cannot be generated by two-three industrialists but requires participation of lakhs of small and medium scale businesses. The Congress leader also attacked the PM for alleged lies on China’s land occupation in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.
Rahul said Congress governments in states waived loans of farmers who are the country’s backbone but the Modi government “stabbed them in the back”. “When Hindu farmers stood up against him, the Hindutvawadi apologised,” Rahul said, referring to the PM.
Rahul read out a grocery list and fuel prices comparing these with prices in 2014 to underline the rise in inflation under the Modi government. “These are the ‘acche din’ (good days)! But for whom? For ‘hum do, hamare do’ (referring to Modi-Shah and Adani-Ambani),” he said, adding that every day the PM thinks of something new that he can give to his industrialist friends.
Addressing the rally, Priyanka Gandhi said the PM wants to sell public resources that the Congress governments built in 70 years to his crony capitalists. “They should tell what they have given the nation in the past seven years,” she said.
Speaking about her experiences in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka said, “The PM can buy Rs 8,000cr aircraft for himself but cannot provide fertilisers to farmers who died standing in lines.” She urged the people to make the BJP government accountable on issues of development and welfare instead of talking about ‘pointless things’.
Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi was present at the party’s national-level rally but did not address the public. Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel and other senior Congress leaders attended the rally. Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi reached late and could not attend the rally.
Addressing the rally, Gehlot said the Modi government was weakening the states by plunging them into a financial crisis. “BJP-ruled states are not speaking up, while the PM is unable to reply to Congress CMs. This rally will herald the beginning of the NDA government’s fall,” Gehlot said.
