Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that Mahatma Gandhi aimed to unite the country but Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working to divide it.
“Mahatma Gandhi talked about uniting India, Modiji is dividing India....(he) pitched one community against another,†Rahul said addressing his partymen at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting at Wardha that saw former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in attendance.
The CWC resolved for a “second freedom struggle†against the Modi Government to combat the ideology of “hate and violenceâ€, saying the same reason had led to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. “You tried Modi (gave him a chance)...He broke your trust. Now trust the Congress, Mahatma Gandhi’s ideology to take India forward,†he told the gathering.
Besides Sonia and Manmohan, senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge, Ashok Gehlot, P Chidambaram among others were also present on the occasion. Holding its meeting at Mahadev Bhavan, Sevagram Ashram, in Wardha district of Maharashtra on the 149th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the CWC also condemned the use of force against protesting farmers on their way to the national Capital.
The Congress president yet again asked the Prime Minister to talk about the Rafale fighter jet controversy. Modi should explain to the country why Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence was chosen over State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as the offset partner of French firm Dassault Aviation, he said.
“Modi ‘avoided eye contact’ when he asked questions about the deal in Parliament, because the Prime Minister had ‘lied’ to the country on the issue,†Rahul alleged. He also alleged that the NDA Government waived loans worth Rs 3.20 lakh crore of capitalists who were close to it, but did not write off the debts of farmers.
The “thieves of India†turned their black money into white through the back door, while the common people had to queue up outside the banks to deposit the scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes (after demonetisation), he added.
Addressing a Press conference post the CWC, party chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said the CWC has passed two resolutions recalling the contribution of Mahatma Gandhi to the “Indian thought process, its soul and bodyâ€. “(Former Prime Minister) Lal Bahadur Shastri’s call of ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ is not just a slogan but a way of life. We will continue to fight for farmers’ rights,†he said.
The CWC underscored the hypocrisy of those who vilified Gandhi and his thoughts, but are brazenly championing it now, he said. “The second freedom struggle will be against the Government that practises politics of hate, vendetta, threat, murder, intimidation, crushing healthy debate and dissent,†he said.
“Farmers who had come to seek grievance redressal were beaten up and lathi-charged. Water cannons and tear gas was also used. We condemn the autocratic Modi Government and the Prime Minister who is drunk with power. We express solidarity with the farmers and resolve to redress their grievances if voted to power,†he said.
