Rahul Gandhi forecasts ‘jumlon ki baarish’ ahead of PM Modi’s rally in Gujarat today

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and PM Narendra Modi. (File)

Ahead of PM Modi’s rally in Gujarat today, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi issued a “weather report” saying “jumlas” (rhetoric) will rain down on Gujarat. Gandhi’s sarcasm comes in the wake of opposition’s allegation that Gujarat poll dates were not announced so that a host of sops could be announced for the people in the state.

Taking to Twitter, Gandhi used the phrase “jumlon ki baarish” and said in a tweet in Hindi, “Weather report: Ahead of elections, Gujarat will today have rain of rhetoric.” He also tagged a news report about the projects that the poll-bound state is getting before the elections.

मौसम का हाल:

चुनाव से पहले गुजरात में आज होगी जुमलों की बारिशhttp://t.co/Fwj9UBf1cZ

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 16, 2017

PM Modi will be addressing a rally at his home turf in Gandhinagar on Monday. The prime minister will address the ‘Gujarat Gaurav Mahasammelan’ being organised by the state BJP to celebrate the conclusion of the saffron party’s ‘Gujarat Gaurav Yatra’. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Amit Shah and many other leaders of the party would also be present on the occasion.

The Opposition, including Congress, has hit out at the Election Commission for not announcing the Gujarat elections date along with Himachal Pradesh. “Allowing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce various sops like a Santa Claus in Gujarat on October 16 speaks volumes about how the BJP is staring at defeat in Gujarat,” Congress leader Raj Babbar said. Read | EC junked past practices to help BJP: Congress

Alleging that the saffron party is trying to ‘pressurise’ the EC, Congress said had the dates for both the states been announced together, the model code of conduct would come into force with immediate effect in Gujarat, leaving no scope for the BJP to announce any new policies or projects in the state.

Demanding credible answers from the EC for not announcing the dates for Gujarat, Janata Dal (United) national general secretary Pavan Varma said, “EC must not only be impartial but seen to be so. Why have the dates for Gujarat elections not been announced? We need credible answers.”

Accusing the Congress of benefiting from a similar decision in 2012, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, speaking at an event organised by India TV news channel in Ahmedabad, said, “In 2012 (Assembly elections), the Election Commission ensured, at the behest of the Congress, that the model code of conduct was in force for a record time to prevent (Narendra) Modiji from working, because of which the state government could not take up development work.”

Last week, the Election Commission announced that Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh will be held on November 9, while in Gujarat, it said, they will be held before December 18.