Rahul puts youth, farmers at centre-stage to unseat Modi
Sagar Kulkarni, DH News Service, New Delhi, Mar 19 2018, 21:12 IST
Congress President Rahul Gandhi. PTI Photo
Congress President Rahul Gandhi has put youth and farmers at the centre of his efforts to unseat Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha elections next year.
At the 84th All India Congress Committee (AICC) Plenary that concluded here on Sunday, He sent out a clear message to the youth- priority of the Congress will be to address their issues of job creation and better educational facilities.
For farmers, he held out an assurance of waiving farm loans of those with small and marginal land holdings and a better price for their produce.
The focus on youth was with a clear intention of weaning away the constituency that had voted for Modi overwhelmingly, apparently by the BJP's promise of creating two-crore jobs every year.
Rahul also launched sharp personal attacks on the prime minister and BJP president Amit Shah accusing them of colluding with corrupt businessmen.
"The youth pushed Narendra Modi's car in the fond hope of getting a lift. The car started and sped away, taking Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi. The youth were left stranded. Nirav Modi... even the name is the same. The most corrupt man in cricket, his name is also the same (Lalit Modi) as our PM," he said.
"Modi stands for collusion between India's biggest crony capitalists and India's prime minister," he said.
Kaurava-Pandava analogy
Rahul used the Kaurava-Pandava analogy to drive home the message of the competing ideologies of the BJP and the Congress.
"In the battle of Kurukshetra, the Kauravas were powerful, extremely well organized and arrogant. They had money and numbers on their side. They fought a small army led by Pandavas. The Kauravas were drunk with power and believed they were the greatest. The Pandavas were humble," he said.
"Like the Kauravas, the BJP and RSS are designed to fight for power. Like the Pandavas, the Congress is designed to fight for the truth... Will India live a lie or will India have the courage to face the truth," the Congress president asked.
Unveiling his roadmap for the Congress, Rahul said he planned to put the ordinary party worker at the centre-stage of the organisation and break down the wall between them and the leadership.
With a number of state units of the party embroiled in factionalism, He asked party workers to keep aside differences and ensure Congress's victory in the upcoming elections.
"If you want to fight, do it after elections please. For the next five-six months there will be strict discipline. There will be some shocks," he said as the Congress prepares for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections.
At the 84th All India Congress Committee (AICC) Plenary that concluded here on Sunday, He sent out a clear message to the youth- priority of the Congress will be to address their issues of job creation and better educational facilities.
For farmers, he held out an assurance of waiving farm loans of those with small and marginal land holdings and a better price for their produce.
The focus on youth was with a clear intention of weaning away the constituency that had voted for Modi overwhelmingly, apparently by the BJP's promise of creating two-crore jobs every year.
Rahul also launched sharp personal attacks on the prime minister and BJP president Amit Shah accusing them of colluding with corrupt businessmen.
"The youth pushed Narendra Modi's car in the fond hope of getting a lift. The car started and sped away, taking Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi. The youth were left stranded. Nirav Modi... even the name is the same. The most corrupt man in cricket, his name is also the same (Lalit Modi) as our PM," he said.
"Modi stands for collusion between India's biggest crony capitalists and India's prime minister," he said.
Kaurava-Pandava analogy
Rahul used the Kaurava-Pandava analogy to drive home the message of the competing ideologies of the BJP and the Congress.
"In the battle of Kurukshetra, the Kauravas were powerful, extremely well organized and arrogant. They had money and numbers on their side. They fought a small army led by Pandavas. The Kauravas were drunk with power and believed they were the greatest. The Pandavas were humble," he said.
"Like the Kauravas, the BJP and RSS are designed to fight for power. Like the Pandavas, the Congress is designed to fight for the truth... Will India live a lie or will India have the courage to face the truth," the Congress president asked.
Unveiling his roadmap for the Congress, Rahul said he planned to put the ordinary party worker at the centre-stage of the organisation and break down the wall between them and the leadership.
With a number of state units of the party embroiled in factionalism, He asked party workers to keep aside differences and ensure Congress's victory in the upcoming elections.
"If you want to fight, do it after elections please. For the next five-six months there will be strict discipline. There will be some shocks," he said as the Congress prepares for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections.