India fatigued by BJP rule, ‘bas ek saal aur...,’ thunders Rahul
Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi claiming his pre-poll slogans on inclusive development and corruption were only dramebaazi (gimmickry) to grab power. Sonia, and also Congress president Rahul Gandhi, attacked the BJP too, accusing it of being “arrogant, power-hungry and divisive”.
Exuding confidence that her party will bounce back, while Sonia indicated at her willingness to ally with all “like-minded” parties for a united fight in next year’s general elections, she did not miss to seek the pole position for the Congress in the Opposition’s fight against the BJP. Her remarks assume significance against the backdrop of regional satraps harbouring ambitions to lead anti-BJP fronts given that the Congress was a weakened force now.
In her address at the 84th Congress Plenary Session, the UPA chairperson also hit out at the Modi Government accusing of “weakening” the UPA’s welfare schemes.
“The slogans of ‘sab ka saath, sab ka vikas’ and ‘na khaoonga, na khaane doonga’ are only and only dramebaazi and a trick to grab power,” she said, referring to Modi’s promises of inclusive development and corruption-free governance.
Sonia exhorted the partymen to be ready for any kind of sacrifice to strengthen the party, to make the country free from discrimination, vendetta politics and arrogance and to forcefully fight against the challenges posed by the present dispensation. She asked them to mount a struggle to free the country from the fear of power.
The Congress resolved to adopt a “pragmatic approach” for cooperation with all like-minded parties and evolve a common workable programme to defeat the BJP-RSS in the 2019 general election.
She said the Congress was fighting the tyrannical Modi Government and the people have begun to realise that the promises made by the BJP in 2014 were hollow.
“Under the leadership of former PM Manmohan Singh, the economy of this country flourished. Our Government formed policies which lifted millions of people from poverty. And today, the Modi Government is weakening these policies,” she said.
She further said the present dispensation was using all means to be in power. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was present on the occasion as was several other top Congress leaders from the across the country.
Sonia said the Congress was making efforts to win back the trust of the people and would work with like-minded parties to oust the BJP. “Those who want to throw the very identity of the Congress out of the country do not know how much people love them. There is only one priority today and that is how to make the Congress party stronger. The Congress is not just a party, but an idea several years ahead of its time,” Sonia said.
For his part, Rahul said the country is in a way “fatigued” under the Modi dispensation and is looking for a way out and only Congress can show the path forward. “The Congress party alone can unite the country and show it the path forward. The difference between the ruling dispensation and his party was that while they spread anger and hatred, we spread love and brotherhood,” said Rahul.
He also said the Congress under him would take the seniors and the youth together as the tradition of the party was to embrace change without forgetting its past and legacy. “If the youth will take the Congress forward, the party will not move forward without the experienced leaders. So, my task is to unite the seniors and the youth, to give a new direction,” he said.
Representatives of the party have fought hard to keep the Congress ideology alive, he said, adding that the senior leaders of the party would guide the youth and take the party forward. Taking a jibe at the present dispensation, the Gandhi scion said that crores of youths in the country, looking up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are not finding anything and did not know where will the jobs come from and farmers do not know when they will get fair price of their produce.