In the first-ever rally by any top Congress personality in insurgency-hit Bastar after the May-25 deadly attack on party leaders, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed in insurgency-hit Bastar region that he was fighting for the common people and wanted to see them empowered.
“My fight is for the common people, for the poor and weaker sections and I want them to be empowered,’’ Gandhi said at a rally at the historic lalbag ground in Jagdalpur, headquarters of tribal-dominated but impoverished Bastar region which is plagued by leftist militancy since the late 1980s.
Pointing towards tribal youths at the rally, Gandhi urged them to join politics and he was ready to support them.
The Congress had claimed that more than one lakh people would attend Rahul’s Bastar rally but attendance was roughly 25,000 which surprised several Congress leaders who were authorised to ferry tribals from forested interiors to Jagdalpur. Bastar region has total 12 Assembly seats and the Congress managed to win just one seat in the last Assembly polls in 2008.
The Congress vice-president hit out at Chhattisgarh’s BJP regime for its claims of development in the state and asked people at the rally, “Are doctors seen in Chhattisgarh’s hospitalsIJ He claimed that hundreds of people in Bastar had died from gastroenteritis.
Recalling the deadly attack by Maoists on Congress convoy at a national highway on May 25 in Bastar region in which 32 people mostly the senior State Congress leaders, including State Congress chief Nandkumar Patel were killed, Gandhi said, “The killings of Patel, Mahendra Karma and others in Bastar jungles were basically the effort to stifle the voice of the people of Chhattisgarh.’’
He said, “There are two types of persons in politics, one who fights for people and another who fights for himself, Nandkumar Patelji was a leader of people and there was an attempt made to suppress the voice he was trying to raise.’’
Sharpening attack on Chhattisgarh’s BJP Government, Gandhi said, “There were 32 people killed in the attack on a national highway, where was the Chhattisgarh Government.”
He presented details of the UPA Government’s achievements and said his Government passed a bill to allow tribals to have legal right on the land they are living on. He cited Right to Information and Right to Education and Food Bill as major steps to help out poor people. ``I want common man should not go hungry, I want to empower the aam aadmi,’’ Gandhi said.
Congress treasurer Motilal Vora, Rajya Sabha member from Chhattisgarh Mohsina Kidwai, former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi, State Congress chief and union minister of State Charandas Mahant addressed the rally and urged tribals to vote out the ‘corroupt’ BJP Government in Chhattisgarh where Assembly election is scheduled by November-December.