BJP chief Rajnath Singh on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on the Nehru-Gandhi family saying it was in the root of the most serious problem this country faced — poverty and the growing economic disparity.
On the whirlwind tour of Alwar, Udaipur and Jaipur districts for election campaign, Singh also hit out at Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and his parliamentarian son Rahul Gandhi for heaping abuses on the BJP.
“Of the total 67 years of Independence, one party has ruled the country for 55 years. Out of these 55 years, one family ruled for nearly 40 years. If people are still poor, the responsibility rests with the family. They are passing the buck now,” Rajnath said in an election rally here.
Facing the most difficult electoral challenge so far in his second innings as the chief of the BJP, Singh tried to strike a chord with rural population in presenting himself as a ‘son of a farmer’ and party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as someone who used to sell tea at railway platform.
“Congress is not able to tolerate that son of a farmer could become president of the main Opposition party and a man who used to sell tea is about to become the PM. The family thinks PM’s post is reserved for one of them. Even when it comes to electing a man from outside the family for the PM’s post, they pick someone who could be remote controlled,” Singh argued.
The BJP chief accused Sonia and Rahul of spitting venom on the Opposition party because it has been highlighting cases of corruption and plight of inflation-hit aam aadmi, both inside and outside the Parliament.
At an election rally in minority dominated Fatehpur constituency in Sikar district, Singh accused Congress of creating a fear in the BJP’s name among Muslims. “The Gujarat riots were unfortunate. Since then, there has been no riot under Modi Government in Gujarat. Riots are happening frequently in non-BJP ruled States. We want your vote by embrace you (Muslims), not by scaring you,” he said.
Singh described poverty and economic disparity as the serious most disease of this country and identified Congress and the family as the reason. “You have diagnosed the reason. Now it’s the time for treatment. The disease could be treated only if you make this country totally free from the Congress,” he appealed to the voters.
Singh assured that a future BJP Government will not shelve welfare schemes initiated by Ashok Gehlot regime and ‘add’ something to it.
“We will provide farm loan at a rate of interest of just one per cent. Unemployed youth desirous of exploring self employment avenues would get a loan of `20 lakh at just three per cent rate of interest. No security would be demanded from the loan seeker in return of providing financial aid,” Singh promised.