Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who expressed confidence of his party’s win in the state during the next Assembly election, said it was only in Gujarat where permission was required to protest.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the grand old party would form the next government in Gujarat after the Assembly election as he hit out at the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre “for creating one India for the rich and one for the poor”.
Gandhi said the Prime Minister was replicating the Gujarat model across India. “As the Prime Minister, Modi is doing in country what he did as the chief minister in Gujarat — creating one India for rich and another for common people. It is called the Gujarat model.”
He said it was only in Gujarat where permission was required to protest. “Jignesh Mevani was jailed for three months for the same. I would like to say that even if he’s jailed for 10 years, it won’t affect him,” Gandhi said.
Launching the Congress’ campaign for this year’s Gujarat Assembly election at an “adivasi satyagrah rally’ in tribal-dominated Dahod district, Gandhi said, resources of the country were being given away to a few wealthy people.
Today, two Indias are being created, one India of the rich, a few select people, billionaires and bureaucrats who have power and money. The second India is of the common people,” he said.
He said the Congress did not want two Indias. “In the BJP model, resources of people like water, forest and land which belong to tribals and other poor people, are being given to a few,” he said.
The Congress leader also said that the BJP-led government in the state had deprived tribals of their rights. “The BJP government will not give you anything, but take away everything from you. You (tribals) have to snatch your rights and then only you will get what is yours,” he said.
Tribal people through their hard work build roads, bridges, buildings and infrastructure in Gujarat. But what did you get in return? You got nothing. Neither good education nor health service,” he said.
Hitting out at Modi over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Gandhi said, “During the pandemic, the Prime Minister told you to bang pots and pans (from balconies) and flash your mobile lights, when three lakh people died in Gujarat. The Ganga river was filled up with bodies. About 50 to 60 lakh people died in the country due to coronavirus,” he said.
(With agency inputs)
