Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addresses a public meeting.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged the Narendra Modi government actually is 'Adani government' and expressed confidence the BJP regime at the Centre will be dislodged with I.N.D.I.A. bloc's win in the LS polls.
Addressing an election rally in Tamil Nadu together with Chief Minister and DMK President MK Stalin in this western city, Gandhi claimed 'Narendra Modi and Adani policies have created two Indias. One India of billionaires and the other India of poor people.'
The bonhomie between the Congress and ruling DMK was evident as Stalin welcomed Gandhi as 'dear brother,' to give a new dawn for a new India.
The former chief of the grand old party addressed the Dravidian party chief as elder brother and said he never addresses any other politician as his brother.
Stalin described the Congress party's manifesto as the 'election hero' and praised Gandhi saying through his yatras, he learnt of people's problems and came up with his party's manifesto. Congress manifesto reflects social justice championed by DMK, he said.
Gandhi said "storm is set to arrive, Narendra Modi is going to be dislodged from power." Modi government actually is "Adani government, it should be called Adani govt and not Narendra Modi government," he alleged.
Be it airport, highway, any infra project; somehow the Government of India 'just gives it' to Adani, he claimed.
He alleged Adani 'wanted Mumbai airport' and 'owners of airport got CBI enquiry' and a few weeks later they handed over the airport to Adani and the Central agency's enquiry disappeared. "Anything he wants he just gets."
After he raised the Adani issue in Parliament, his Lok Sabha membership was taken away by the government and he was thrown out of his house in Delhi. Nothing has been done for the poor people of India.
If voted to power, the I.N.D.I.A. bloc government is determined to take 'revolutionary and historic action' never seen before in any country corresponding to the size of India, he said and outlined the features of Congress manifesto which includes women empowerment and job creation.
Asserting that the election is an ideological battle and 'no longer a normal election,' he said the rights of all the people of the country, their histories, languages and their way of life is protected by the Constitution.
"The Constitution is not an ordinary book, it is the soul, it is the voice of India's people. That soul and that voice is being attacked by the Prime Minister and by the RSS." Gandhi alleged the Saffron party MPs openly stated that 'they are going to change the Constitution' if they retained power at the Centre.
India's institutions belong to all its people and they do not belong to the RSS. Most vice-chancellors of varsities come from the RSS and bureaucracy and legal system is infiltrated by the RSS which is an 'attack on the very idea of our nation.'
In Tirunelveli, he alleged that all of India's institutions and agencies have been 'stuffed full of RSS people.'
He slammed Modi over the electoral bond scheme and alleged it became apparent subsequently that it was 'extortion.'
Further, he alleged 'this is the single biggest act of corruption done by anybody in the world.' However, Modi claims of cleaning politics.
Though PM Modi says he likes Dosa, in Delhi he speaks of 'one nation, one leader, one language, and asked 'why not space for all other Indian languages' including Tamil and Manipuri.
He hit out at the PM for attacking Tamil culture, history, tradition and language. Tamil farmers are starving and Tamil youth are unemployed. 'For the first time in Indian history farmers are paying tax.'
"Modiji you might like Dosa, you might like Vada also, that is not the issue here. Nobody cares whether you like dosa or vada, we care whether you like the Tamil language. We care whether you respect Tamil history. We care about what you are doing for the future of this country and Tamil Nadu."
The nation is witnessing highest rate of unemployment in the last 40-45 years and 83 per cent of unemployed are youth. "India today is more unequal than it was under the British. Twenty-two of India's richest people have as much money as 70 crore citizens have."
Earlier, addressing a rally in southern Tirunelveli, Gandhi assured a legislation to provide apprenticeship to young people and filling 30 lakh vacant government jobs and dubbed the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test anti-poor.
There are 30 lakh vacant jobs in the government and they will be provided to young people, he said and added that in order to benefit all the graduates and diploma holders a law--Right to Apprenticeship-- will be passed in the Parliament.
"I know, the people of Tamil Nadu have a big issue with NEET. We are going to leave the decision to the state; on whether you want to do NEET or not to do NEET. NEET is an anti-poor exam and we are more than happy to allow you (Tamil Nadu) to take a decision on whether or not to take the exam."
Picking from ally DMK's campaign themes, the Congress leader said when Tamil Nadu sought flood relief, it is 'refused,' by the Centre. The ruling DMK has been consistently focusing on the Rs 37,000 crore flood relief sought by Tamil Nadu alleging the Union government did not give even a single paisa.
The Centre labels Tamil Nadu's request for flood relief as 'Pitchai,' a plea made to seek 'alms,' Gandhi alleged. DMK and Congress have been alleging that BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman belittled flood relief as 'pitchai.' When fishermen seek assistance they get nothing from the Centre and similar is the plight of Tamil farmers, who are forced to go to Jantar Mantar in Delhi to fight for their rights, he claimed.
Gandhi bought sweets from a bakery in Coimbatore and posed for a photograph with workers there.
The Tirunelveli rally was Gandhi's first election rally in Tamil Nadu.