Congress president Rahul Gandhi kick- started his party’s election campaign for the Lok Sabha poll for Uttarakhand on Saturday by going ballistic on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Rafale scam and the worsening plight of the farmers and the small traders. Addressing a well- attended rally at Parade Ground in Dehradun, Rahul took a jibe at Modi for participating in a movie shoot at Corbett National Park for over three hours on the day the Pulwama attack on Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel was carried out in the Kashmir valley. “ Immediately after the attack on CRPF personnel, we made it crystal clear that my party was standing rock-like with the Centre and the nation and in tune with the gravity of the situation, we cancelled all our programmes. But by way of a grim contrast, Modiji was busy giving different poses to the National Geographic Channel,’’ he said. Launching an acid-dripping attack on the Prime Minister, the Congress president questioned as to why the Rafale fighter aircraft deal, signed during the UPA regime for buying 126 planes at a cost of Rs 526 crore per aircraft, had been changed by Narendra Modi government. “It is clear that the deal was changed to favour the industrialist Anil Ambani’s company and consequently, India would have to pay an escalated price of Rs 1600 crore per aircraft to Dassault Aviation,” he said. Rahul also cast question on the government’s motive to remove Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) from the deal and claimed that it had been done to provide a contract worth Rs 30,000 crore to Anil Ambani’s company despite the fact that it has had no experience to manufacture aircraft.
The Congress president further alleged that Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief had been unceremoniously removed by Modi as the agency was planning to investigate Rafale deal. Asserting that the narrative of the last four years has changed from ‘ Acche Din Ayenge’ to ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’, he said that the people have realised how corrupt this government is. Terming Narendra Modi’s decision to provide Rs 3.5 per day to the farmers as a cruel joke, Rahul Gandhi said that the Congress on coming to power would waive off the loans of the farmers and set up food processing units near their fields. “We waived off the loans in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan two days on assuming charge of the government,’’ he said.
The Congress president assured that if voted to power, his party would provide a minimum guaranteed income to every citizen of the country. He said that the UPA government had brought the land acquisition bill to protect the interests of the farmers. “ But the Modi government and BJP governments in states are offering land of the farmers to the industrialists on a platter,” he said.
Taking a swipe at the Modi government on demonetisation, Gandhi said that the informal sector of the country had been devastated by the move and the small traders are still reeling under the impact of GST. He assured that the Congress on coming to power would implement a ‘true and simplified GST’ in the country.
In his address, the state Congress president Pritam Singh claimed that the Congress would emerge victorious in all the five Lok Sabha seats of Uttarakhand. “The verdict of the election will decide whether democracy would remain in the country or it would perish,” he said.
Former chief minister and AICC general secretary Harish Rawat said that all sections of the society like the farmers, labourers and unemployed are looking up to Rahul Gandhi with a high hope of deliverance. Dubbing the double- engine government as total failure, he said that the people have made up their minds to show the BJP exit door.
The in- charge of the Uttarakhand Congress Anugrah Narayan Singh said that violence and corruption are reigning in the country under the guise of patriotism.
Among others who addressed the rally were the leader of the Opposition Indira Hridayesh, Rajya Sabha MP Pradeep Tamta, co in-charge of state Congress, Rajesh Dharmani and MLAs- Karan Mahra, Harish Dhami, Quazi Nizammudin, Manoj Rawat and Hira Singh Bisht.