BJP hungry for power, can create communal divide: Rahul

mangaloretoday.com / NDTV

Dehradun, Feb 23: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday, saying the BJP can create communal divide for the sake of power and it does not have the vision to rule the country.

 

Addressing a rally in Uttarakhand capital Dehradun, Gandhi also accused the BJP of stalling six anti-graft bills in Parliament — a day after BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley mocked his "posturing" on the legislations.

Gandhi once again highlighted the issue of corruption in BJP-ruled states and lambasted the saffron party’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, for his "bhashan (lectures)" on development.
 
"I talk about development, and not about my achievements," Gandhi said, taking a dig at Modi, the Gujarat chief minister.

While addressing rallies across the country in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Modi stresses Gujarat’s development model to reach out to voters.

"Tribals, women and small businessmen, among others, have ushered in development in Gujarat," the Congress vice-president said. He, however, did not name his political rival.

Reiterating the claims made in his recent speeches, Gandhi added the BJP had turned a blind eye to corruption in states such as Karnataka (under BS Yeddyurappa’s rule), Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat.

Asserting that the Congress was committed to the fight against corruption, he said the party had paved way for Right to Information and lokpal. Gandhi added the BJP was making false promises ahead of the key general elections.

"They (BJP leaders) have only one motto: Congress ko mita dijiye (wipe out the Congress)."

The Congress vice-president said the BJP was bothered about nothing but power. "They can do anything for power. They can trigger tension between two communities."

Listing out the achievements of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre, Gandhi said the Centre had embarked on an ambitious project to build a nationwide "manufacturing corridor", which would pass through Uttarakhand.
 
He also tried to woo voters by underlining that the government had raised the cap on subsidised LPG from nine to 12. "I went to (Prime Minister) Manmohan Singhji and Soniaji (Congress president Sonia Gandhi) and told them people are facing problems due to the LPG cap."

In a virtual directive, the Congress vice-president at a party meeting in January had asked the government to raise the annual cap to 12.
 
Gandhi advocated the need for women’s empowerment for development in the country. He spelt out his vision for politics, saying, "Anger and arrogance have no place in politics."

He reiterated his claims that the BJP had blocked the passage of six anti-corruption bills. Swaraj and Jaitley had on Saturday questioned why Gandhi was silent on the scams that had hit the UPA government if he was committed to the fight against corruption.

At the rally in Uttarakhand, which has seen a change of guard recently, Gandhi put emphasis on unity. People of every religion helped each other and worked together during the June disaster, he said. Hundreds, including pilgrims, had died last year after cataclysmic rains wreaked havoc on the state.

"The chief minister (Harish Rawat) has told me he is working 18 hours a day for the development of Uttarakhand. I will request him to work for 20 hours," Gandhi added.