AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi launched yet another attack on the RSS and the BJP on Tuesday and said that the RSS and the BJP are not only trying to wipe out the multi-cultural ethos of the Indian society but also suppressing the voices of Indian youth across the country.
Gandhi was addressing a massive public rally at Upper Assam’s Sivsagar district in Assam on Tuesday — the second day of his visit to Assam. Gandhi also took part in a road show in the district and kickstarted the party’s poll campaign for the Upper Assam ahead of the forthcoming Assembly polls.
“In colleges and universities across the country, RSS people are being installed as vice-chancellors. Voices of Indian youth are being suppressed be it in Delhi, Hyderabad, lucknow and other places across the country. We are going to fight this. The BJP and the RSS want to impose one ideology in the whole of the country and whoever speaks against them, they try to crush them. The attack on reporters in Delhi is also condemnable,” Gandhi said.
“People are more than welcome to have their own opinion. But they (BJP and RSS) have no business to impose their opinion on others or crush others opinions and that is what the RSS is doing in India. They are trying to do the same in Assam,” said the AICC leader while attacking the RSS and BJP together.
Gandhi arrived in Assam on Monday and addressed three meetings at Gohpur, Bihpuria and Titabor. He also held a discussion with the tea community leaders at Sivsagar last night. On Tuesday morning, Gandhi took part at a road show-six kms stretch-6 kms from near the historic Rangghar in the Sivsagar town to Darbar field interacting with hundreds of Congress workers and amid thousands of onlookers, standing on both sides of the stretch of the road to see the young leader.
Saying that the RSS has the political mandate in its bid to control the country’s religious and cultural landscape from Nagpur, Gandhi said that the RSS agenda is dangerous for a multicultural state like Assam where people follow different faiths. “We cannot let the RSS tinker with our history and subdue local cultures,” he said.
He also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the Prime Minister failed to fulfill his promises. “He (Modi) promised to contain the price rise of essential commodities when he came here before the lok Sabha polls. However, the price of pulses has soared up to `200 now. The prices did not reduce but Modiji only wore a suit worth `lakh,” he said.
“He came to Assam before the lok Sabha polls and promised so many things but never fulfilled them. His objective was to get votes and he got it. If he comes to Assam now, he would not speak about the price rise or about the issues of the farmers in Assam. He will now give some new lofty promises and then forget them after the elections,” said Gandhi.
Gandhi added that the Prime Minister claimed to have signed the Naga Accord recently but kept the Chief Ministers of northeastern states including Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh and even the Union Home Minister at dark about this.
“I remember what was Assam 15 years back. There were disturbances here, bloods spilled and people were scared. Peace came to Assam after the Congress government under the leadership of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi took over. Gogoi ji had to fight against violence, anger to bring peace,” said the AICC leader while highlighting different development works undertaken by the Congress government in Assam in last 15 years.