leading a nationwide fast in protest by his party against alleged communalism and casteism, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Monday asserted that the grand old party will defeat the BJP-led NDA in the 2019 general election.
Amid expose that some of the leaders feasted before sitting on a fast, Rahul accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being “casteist” and “anti-Dalit”, and said his party will always stand against the BJP’s “oppressive” ideology.
The BJP hit back at the Congress, accusing it of playing a “joke” on Dalits with its “farce of a fast” and mocked the Opposition party, saying its leaders claim of bringing a change but cannot abstain from one meal and their president Rahul cannot wake up in morning even for a day as they are used to “politics of luxury”.
“The entire country knows that PM Modi is anti-Dalit, it is not a secret...The BJP follows ideology of oppressing Dalits, tribals, minorities. We will stand against and defeat it in 2019 general polls,” Rahul told the media at Rajghat.
Rahul’s day-long fast also focused on non-functioning of Parliament, for which it blamed the ruling BJP. The BJP MPs too will observe a fast on April 12 to protest the impasse in Parliament.
While some Congress leaders, including Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken, landed in a soup over being traced having a breakfast in a restaurant, senior leaders like Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler were asked to stay away from the main event to avoid their 1984 anti-Sikh riots shadow. The party’s units across the country held similar fasts.
Senior leaders, including Kamal Nath, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sheila Dikshit, Ashok Gehlot and the party’s communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala, took part in the fast.
After the picture of Delhi Congress leaders having a meal at a restaurant went viral, BJP latched onto it to claim that the Opposition party’s “double standards” were exposed and that it had ridiculed Mahatma Gandhi’s principles of ‘satyagrah’.
BJP Spokesman Sambit Patra also attacked Rahul Gandhi for calling Modi anti-Dalit, saying the Congress denied Dalits financial inclusion during its long rule and its leaders cannot escape one meal for them.
“It is the Congress which is anti-Dalit not Modi who economically and socially empowered them with schemes like Jan Dhan and Mudra,” he said.
Referring to the presence of Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler, accused of involvement in anti-Sikh riots, at Rajghat, Patra said that the Congress leaders’ decision to keep them away from dais was an admission of guilt. “It was not ‘upwaas’ (fast) but ‘uphaas’ (mockery),” he said.
Rahul alleged that the atmosphere created in the country was because of the BJP’s ideology “to divide the country and crush Dalits, crush tribals and minorities”.
“A few days ago, a BJP leader said opposition leaders are animals. The truth is that today every person in India is standing against the government, whose approach is against the Dalits, tribals, minorities and farmers,” Rahul said, a reference to BJP president Amit Shah’s recent speech equating opposition parties to various animals, including mongoose and snakes.
Party leaders said the fast for harmony is also against the communal politics of the BJP and non-functioning of Parliament, where the Congress wanted to debate issues such as the PNB bank scam, CBSE paper leak, alleged dilution of SC/ST Act, special status to Andhra Pradesh and setting up of the Cauvery water management board.