LoP in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addresses during the ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan’ public meeting
New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying that they keep mum on the issue of caste census as they do not want backwards, Dalits, tribals and minorities to get their due share.
Specifically targeting Kejriwal at his first public meeting for Delhi assembly polls, Gandhi said that the AAP convenor was following “Modi’s strategy of propaganda and false promises” despite rising pollution, corruption and inflation in the national capital.
Gandhi also promised a caste survey in Delhi if the Congress formed the government in the national capital.
“Kejriwal had said that he would clean Delhi, remove corruption, and turn the national capital into Paris.
“What actually happened — one cannot move around due to pollution and inflation is rising,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said addressing his ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan’ public meeting at Seelampur.
“Arvind Kejriwal had talked of removing corruption. Has he removed corruption? Just like Modi ji’s propaganda of making false promises, he is following the same strategy…. Pollution, corruption and inflation are on the rise in Delhi,” Gandhi said.
The Congress and AAP are part of the INDIA bloc. The two parties had fought the Lok Sabha election together in Delhi, but are contesting the assembly polls separately.
Stressing that India belongs to everyone, Gandhi said the Congress does not want “an India run by a handful of crony capitalists”.
“When I talk of caste census, neither Modi says a word nor does Kejriwal because both want that backward sections, Dalits, tribals and minorities do not get their due share (bhaagidari). Ask Kejriwal whether he is with the caste census. Ask Modi ji whether he is with the caste census,” Gandhi said.
“I had said to Modi ji in Parliament that you do it or not, we will get the caste census done and reservation cap removed in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha when a Congress government comes.
“We want the poorest of the poor, whether they are Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs or Christians, to dream big… head big companies,” he said.
He urged the people to support the Congress and make it victorious, asserting that the party would ensure Delhi’s development as in the past under Sheila Dikshit’s government.
“Neither Kejriwal nor the BJP can do what the Congress had done,” Gandhi said.
He said a battle of ideology is currently on in the country.
“It is written in the Constitution that India belongs to everyone. The BJP-RSS people spread hatred, make people fight,” he alleged.
“We walked from Kanyakumari to Kashmir to protect the Constitution. (BR) Ambedkar’s Constitution is being attacked by Narendra Modi and the people of BJP-RSS daily,” he alleged.
“Till I am alive, I will protect every Indian from assault be it Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians,” he said.
With the rise of AAP, Congress’ stake in Delhi’s political landscape has shrunk and it failed to open its account in the last two assembly polls.
