Turning to verse to attack the Centre for its statement that it does not have data on the number of migrants who died during the lockdown, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the world saw the deaths but only the Modi government was unaware.
Union Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar told the Lok Sabha on Monday that the government does not have data on the number of migrants who died or were injured while returning to their native places due to the lockdown.
In a four-line verse in Hindi, Mr. Gandhi responded by saying the Modi government does not know how many migrant labourers died and how many jobs were lost during the lockdown.
“Did the death not take place if you did not count? But yes, it is sad the government was unaffected by it, The world saw their deaths, only the Modi government was not aware of it,” he said on Twitter.
IAC, AAP propped up by RSS, BJP
The Congress leader alleged that the India Against Corruption movement and the Aam Aadmi Party were propped by the RSS-BJP to subvert democracy and bring down the UPA government.
Mr. Gandhi cited AAP founder member and civil rights lawyer Prashant Bhushan’s reported claim that the movement was to a large extent supported and propped by the BJP-RSS to bring down the Congress government and get themselves in power.
“What was known to us has been confirmed by a founding AAP member,” the former Congress chief tweeted, tagging a media report on Mr. Bhushan’s remarks.
“The IAC movement and AAP were propped up by the RSS/BJP to subvert democracy and bring down the UPA government,” Mr. Gandhi, who was accompanying his mother Sonia Gandhi to the U.S. for her medical check-up, said.
Mr. Bhushan was part of the India Against Corruption movement which was the precursor to AAP led by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
In 2015, Mr. Bhushan along with Yogendra Yadav was expelled from AAP over alleged anti-party activities.
The India Against Corruption movement was particularly prominent during the anti-graft protests of 2011 and 2012, concerned with the introduction of the Jan Lokpal bill.
