Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday lambasted Bharatiya Janata Party Government for harping on hollow development claims while running away from the real issues like corruption, maladministration, violence, insurgency, atrocities on women and injustice with farmers, youth, and the down trodden.
Addressing a mammoth crowd at Budhapara Outdoor Stadium in Raipur, the Congress vice-president charged that the BJP Government was talking of development in Chhattisgarh but that development has been one sided with which poor and the common man has nothing to do. That development was for rich and the industrial class and added that Congress too was not against the development, but this should not be at the cost of the poor.
Earlier addressing election rally at Kharsiya, the Congress vice-president accused the BJP Government of indulging in loot of resources of Chhattisgarh like a band of thieves. Remembering slain Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress president Nandkumar Patel, Gandhi said, “Patel had told me that Chhattisgarh is a rich State, land, forest, mines belonged to people but all these things are being looted from them instead of using them for their benefit.’’
lauding Patel’s thought, he said Patel never ever wanted to become Chief Minister and always thought of fighting for the cause of poor and down trodden. He wanted to return back the poor whatever was looted from them by the BJP regime, Gandhi added.
Criticising BJP Government at his Raipur’s rally for its failure to ensure security of people, Gandhi said the extent of fear, violence, atrocities on women in Chhattisgarh was nowhere else in the country. Spread of Maoist district wise too was unprecedented in the State but the BJP Government did not talk on these issues forgetting that where there is violence, fear, there would be no development, he added. On the issue of lawlessness and maladministration, Rahul said our entire State leadership was wiped out at Jeeram Valley on May 25 by Maoists but no one heard anything the State Government did in the direction to bring culprits to book.
The Congress vice-president claimed, “The Congress is the party of common man, we want development of poor, Adivasis, Scheduled Castes and the down-trodden and for that the UPA Government brought Right to Information, new land Acquision Bill and other pro-people legislations. We want to give power in the hands of poor and women and save their dignity too, only then there would be real development.”
Notably, 72 Assembly constituencies out of 90 in Chhattisgarh are going to polls in second phase scheduled for November 19 for Rahul held three public meetings — Kharsiya, Surajpur and Raipur — on Saturday and appealed voters to cast votes in favour of Congress candidates for a change in Chhattisgarh.