BJP leaders talk about Hindutva, but they have not read the Gita: Rahul Gandhi
Addressing a rally in Guwahati on February 25, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi narrated the case of a Sikh farmer who had been allegedly thrown out of Gujarat because "he was an outsider". As he was narrating the episode, some enthusiastic Congress volunteers started chanting: "Shame shame, murdabad, murdabad." Gandhi paused for a while and said: "Please don't say murdabad. I don't like that. Ours is a party of love. Let them spread hatred."
Love and inclusivity were the two central themes during his 24-minute speech at the massive first election rally in the North-east, attended by over 75,000 people. Launching a scathing attack against the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi asked BJP leaders to read the Gita to understand India. "They say Congress should be finished in India. They talk of Hindutva. But they have not read the Gita yet. If they had, they would have known what it says. It teaches us to be humble and spread love," he said.
He tried to reach out to every possible social group with the slogans of empowerment and decentralisation. "There are two types of leaders. One empowers the public and the other wants to snatch power from them. I want to empower people," he said, adding that the Congress will continue to work for the poor, tribal, tea garden workers and adivasis. "We gave Food Security Bill, but the Opposition said it was a waste of money," he said. He also added one new group to his vision for inclusive progress. "There are 70 crore people who are above BPL but below the level of middle class. They are the taxi drivers and security guards. We want to work for their progress," he said.
He also promised more empowerment for women if the Congress came to power in the next election. "India can be a superpower only when women are empowered. I want to see 50 per women in Assemblies and Parliament," he said.
He criticised the BJP saying the saffron party was making fun of the Indian people by claiming that it would do things in just a few months what could not be done in the last 70 years. "It's really laughable. They are insulting the people of India. Leaders don't do anything. Whatever has been achieved is because of the people of India. I don't have that arrogance. I understand India's history. All big leaders listened to people, bowed to them and empowered them," said the Gandhi scion.
Despite this lofty philosophy, the Congress vice-president did not forget to remind the crowd of his and his party's contributions over the last 10 years. "We went to Bhatta Parsaul and passed the Land Acquisition Bill. We threw out Vedanta Group from Niyamgiri. We gave Rs.7,000 crore loan waiver to farmers. But we did everything with love, not with hatred and anger. Gandhiji has taught us that a revolution can be brought through peace," he said.
Stressing the need for the Congress also to change and at a faster pace, Gandhi said that the recently held primaries were a step in that direction.Referring to the murder of Arunachal Pradesh's Nido Tania in Delhi, Rahul said that there should be strong laws to stop such incidents. "I feel happy to visit the North-east. In other parts of the country, you have built good reputations as excellent workers. So when bad things happen to you, I don't feel good. Nobody should feel unwelcome anywhere."
Without naming any party, he hit out at the Opposition saying they play divisive politics. "In Maharashtra, they say North Indians are outsiders, in Delhi they say people from the North-east are outsiders, in Gujarat, the Sikhs are outsiders. That's the politics of hatred."
The Gandhi scion ended his speech referring to the self-immolation in Guwahati a day prior to his rally. "One man self-immolated yesterday. I have told CM Tarun Gogoi to deal with his family with love." On February 24, a member of a peasant rights group died after setting himself on fire in Guwahati demanding land rights for people living in the hills and wet lands around Guwahati.
Earlier in the day, the Congress vice-president reached Diphu in Karbi Anglong district to hold brainstorming sessions with tribal groups to gather inputs for his party's manifesto. "We want decentralisation of power and funds for adivasis, tribal and handicapped. In the last 10 years of UPA rule, we gave you National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, or the NREGA, which gives you the right to work. We also enacted the Right to Information. And last year, we passed the food security act, which assigns a right to food to the people. The more power given to people, the better for the country," he said in Diphu to a gathering of tribal leaders.
Talking about corruption, he said that corruption occurs because of the concentration of power and described the RTI as the most historical tool to fight corruption.
However, his two-day-long visit to Assam has been marred by a series of protests by various groups. Around 10 organisations have called bandhs in different parts of the state to protest against Gandhi's visit to the state. In fact, the capital city, Guwahati, was shut down because of a 12-hour bandh called by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti. During the bandh, protesters set ablaze several vehicles, tyres and blocked national highways, railway tracks at different places and threw stones at buses carrying Congress supporters to the rally. Security forces arrested over 100 protesters across the state.
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BJP leaders talk about Hindutva, but they have not read the Gita: Rahul Gandhi : India, News - India Today
