New Delhi, Feb 11: Congress president Rahul Gandhi hit back at PM Narendra Modi for criticising the policies of the previous UPA government and said that the Prime Minister is running the country by looking at the rear view mirror, which will cause accidents. Addressing a rally in Hosapete for upcoming assembly elections in Karnataka, Rahul took a swipe at PM and said,“If you look into the rear view mirror and drive, you end up taking decisions such as demonetisation and GST.”
“Modiji, this country has not made you prime minister to talk only about the past. This country wants to know your future plans for the country,” Rahul attacked Modi. The Congress president also alleged that in his one-hour long speech in parliament this week, PM Modi did not speak about the burning issues pertaining to agrarian problem, unemployment, tribals and Dalits. Rather, he chose to speak about the past.
He also showered praise on Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and advised the prime minister “to learn governance” from him who runs the government looking forward. Rahul promised the people that the Congress would double the amount of work it had done in the last five years if given another opportunity to govern the state.
Soon after Rahul’s remarks, BJP Karnataka unit chief B S Yeddyurappa took to Twitter and asked if the rear view mirror helped Gandhi spot Santosh Lad, Anand Singh and remind him of the land, mining and ‘rape scam’.
“Still wondering what ‘rape scam’ means? Are the objects in the mirror closer than they appear?” he asked in a series of tweets. Anand Singh, who was a BJP MLA and joined the Congress recently, had in the past faced charges of illegal mining and Lad land scam allegation, which both had refuted.
The Congress president has started his election campaign with a three-day tour of Karnataka from February 10. The campaign will involve road shows, public meetings, interactions with civil society groups and sessions featuring farmers. He might visit again later next month and also in March.
The Karnataka assembly elections will be held in the first quarter of this year.