Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday launched an attack on the Narendra Modi government while addressing a public rally at the Ramlila Ground showcasing 'Jan Aakrosh' (public resentment) over alleged failures and corruption of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. In the first such rally since assuming the post of Congress president, Rahul Gandhi spoke extensively on how Modi-led NDA government has failed to hear the grievances of Indian citizens.
Virtually sounding the poll bugle for the next Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi on Sunday claimed his party would win the polls in Karnataka and other states and will return to power at the Centre in 2019. At his first public rally in the national capital after taking over as the party chief, he said the Congress was like the water required to build the country's edifice and described party workers as "sherkebachche" (lions cubs), who sacrificed their lives for truth and not for "satta" (power).
He said while the country believed in a religion that was based on truth in everything, one did "not find truth" in Modi's speeches.
The Congress president said wherever he goes, he sees the anger against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and that no section of the society is happy. He said people search for truth in Narendra Modi's speeches as now citizens have realised that Modi only talks and does nothing.
"He had promised employment to 200,000 people every year. People trusted him. But after four years what we have is widespread unemployment. Measures like demonetisation and the Gabbar Singh Tax (GST) have broken the back of the informal sector," Gandhi said, according to news agency PTI.
The Congress chief also criticised the prime minister for his "silence" on crimes against women and alleged that while Modi gave the slogan 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao', members of his own party assaulted women.
Addressing the 'Jan Aakrosh Rally' at Ramleela Maidan in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi said, "For the first time in 70 years, four Supreme Court judges came in front of the people and asked for justice. Modiji was silent. People in the Supreme Court took the name of Justice Loya and said that the court was under pressure."
Further, Gandhi raised concerns about corruption ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections. "BJP’s chief ministerial candidate in Karnataka has gone to jail. And on the other hand, Narendra Modiji keeps saying that he is fighting against corruption. Piyush Goyal could not declare his own company. For the first time, the power minister sold his company to another power company. Nirav Modi took your money and ran away. This government put you in lines just so you could access your own money, all in the name of black money," he said.
Rahul Gandhi said that farmers across the country work relentlessly under huge pressure yet not a single rupee was waived off by Narendra Modi. He said without Congress Party, farmers can't live peacefully in India.
Taking a jibe at Modi calling himself 'chowkidaar', Rahul Gandhi said India's chowkidaar (security guard), who filled the pocket of fugitive businessmen Nirav Modi, uttered not a single word as he let him out of the country.
Further, Rahul Gandhi said Prime Minister changed the Rafale deal without discussion and bought the aircraft at double the price at which the UPA govt was buying it.
Rahul Gandhi also hit out at BJP over Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua rape case and Uttar Pradesh's Unnao rape case and said: "For the first time and Indian PM has been asked to protect woman of the country on foreign soil. People have urged Modi Ji to safeguard women in India."
Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad came down heavily on Rahul Gandhi and described his party's ‘Jan Akrosh’ rally in the national capital as one held in the "quest of power".
Taking strong exception to Gandhi's criticism of Narendra Modi at the rally, the senior BJP leader said the Congress president was trying to galvanise his cadre that was "sceptical of his leadership, having faced loss after loss ever since he has taken over the reins of his party".
The rally comes ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections, which will take place on May 12.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, incumbent party President Rahul Gandhi, prominent leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad and others were also present at the rally.
Here are the top 10 highlights of Rahul Gandhi’s Jan Aakrosh rally:
"Rahul Gandhi's rally in Delhi has been organised in the quest of power, though he has given it the name of Jan Aakrosh,” said Ravi Shankar Prasad, according to news agency PTI.
"He has claimed that his party will win the Assembly polls in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, as well as the Lok Sabha, polls next year. He is daydreaming," Prasad added.
He said Rahul Gandhi was trying to instil a bit of enthusiasm into his "demoralised" party cadre.
"He has shown scant respect for Narendra Modi, who is acknowledged as a global leader and whose four-year rule has been marked by a rapid economic progress, without any corruption scandal, unlike when the Congress ruled the country," Prasad said.
2. Prasad slams Rahul on India-China Doklam standoff: Saying that Gandhi had also accused Modi of not raising the Doklam issue during the trip, Prasad asked, "Has he (Gandhi) told the nation, why did he meet the Chinese ambassador during the (Doklam) stand-off?"
"Seventy years have passed since Independence. For the 58 years, the country was ruled by the Congress, which has mostly been controlled by Rahul Gandhi's family. Their legacy is corruption, unemployment, farmers' suicides," Prasad said, while adding that the Congress president owed an answer to the country on these counts.
Launching a scathing attack on the Modi government, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday accused it of "betraying" the people by not keeping its promises and alleged that corruption had taken "deeper roots" since it came to power.
In her address to the 'Jan Akrosh Rally', the UPA chairperson alleged that the government has left no stone unturned in undermining institutions and targeting political rivals by misusing central agencies.
She also made a reference to the "serious crisis" that had gripped the top judiciary, saying it had never happened before.
Sonia Gandhi claimed all sections of the society were unhappy and angry with the government as none of the promises made to them were fulfilled.
In her 10-minute address, she said unlike truth prevailing in the past, today falsehood, hatred and violence were ruling the roost.
The Congress leader cautioned the people to remain alert in the "sensitive" phase that the country was passing through.
"What happened to Modi ji's slogan 'Na khaunga, nakhanedunga' (would not take bribes, nor let anyone do so) as the roots of corruption have become deeper under his watch," she said.
Sonia Gandhi charged the government with muzzling dissenting voices and dividing communities with an eye on electoral gains.
4. Manmohan Singh says democracy is in danger under Modi govt: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday sought the support for the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi, saying the .
Launching an all-out attack on the government, he said it has failed to fulfil all its promises it made before coming to the power and it's the time it should give an account of its works to the people of the country.
Manmohan Singh claimed the anger among all sections of the society has shot up in the last four years due to the rising threat to the safety and security of the people and the vanishing employment opportunities, which has left the youths worried.
Manmohan Singh said the pessimism is on the rise across the country, the law and order situation is bad and the atrocities against the minorities, the Dalits and the women are rising, but the Modi government seems hardly perturbed.
5. Questions raised on no-confidence motion, bank frauds, unemployment: Accusing the Modi government of thwarting the Opposition's no-confidence motion in Parliament, Manmohan Singh said it did everything possible and conspired to stop it from being taken up in Parliament.
"Today such an atmosphere is being created where the Constitutional institutions are being insulted. I talked about the manner in which Parliament was not allowed to function and how the Budget was passed,” Manmohan Singh said, according to news agency PTI.
The former prime minister said what has happened in the banking sector with Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi having taken thousands of crores of loans and run away from the country, is for everybody to see.
He said the price of crude oil across the world was falling while in India the prices of petrol and diesel were constantly rising. He asked why this government was not working towards reducing the oil prices, which have put common man in great distress.
Talking about unemployment, he said it was on the rise as the Mod Government has not created the much-promised 20 million (two crore) job opportunities, leaving youths and students, who had taken study loans, a worried lot in absence of jobs.
BJP chief Amit Shah on Sunday tore into the Congress party, saying that the 'Jan Aakrosh' rally organised by the latter was, in reality, a 'Parivar Akrosh' rally.
Talking to his Twitter handle, the BJP chief said that the rally organised by the Congress highlighted the increasing irrelevance of a "dynasty and their courtiers," who were overthrown from one State after another in the elections.
If the Congress wants to see ‘Jan Akrosh’ they should see the results of election after election, where their Party has been comprehensively defeated across the length and breadth of India. People are not tolerating Congress’ lies, empty promises, corruption and communalism.
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) April 29, 2018
If the Congress really wants to know why is there Jan Akrosh, they should answer in today’s rally why did they disallow Parliament to function. They should answer why has the Congress prevented the formation of an OBC commission that gives justices to backward sections?
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) April 29, 2018
"A dynasty and their courtiers, who were sent out of state after state by 'Jan Aadesh' now pretend to represent 'Jan Akrosh.' Today's Congress rally is nothing but a 'Parivar Akrosh Rally' which highlights their increasing irrelevance," Amit Shah tweeted.
"During today's 'Parivar Akrosh Rally' you will see abject India-hatred on display. After all, the Congress cannot digest that 125 crore Indians have seen through their anti-development and highly divisive politics. Congress' efforts to create divisions are fully exposed!" he added.
He further said that the Congress party couldn't digest that the people of the country saw through their "anti-development and highly divisive politics".
7. Rahul Gandhi confident on winning 2019 elections: Describing the party workers as "sher ka bachha" (lion cubs), the Gandhi scion showed confidence in winning the 2019 general elections.
"Every Congress worker is a lion's cub. We will win in 2019. Go to Assam and Punjab and ask how many Congress workers have given their lives for the country. The Congress workers have given their lives for the truth. We will show them in 2019. Narendra Modi is worried now. He is hiding behind power," he said.
Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Modi's seaplane ride during the Gujarat Assembly elections this year, the Congress President said, "You stood up to this government in Gujarat. The press was saying that Congress could not get more than 50 seats in Gujarat. All Congress workers stood up in Gujarat and Narendra Modi had to run away in a seaplane. Now, you should see what we do in Karnataka."
8. Rahul attacks RSS, defends Salman Khurshid: Launching a scathing attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), Rahul Gandhi said the RSS people are being posted in all institutions in India. In 2014, the BJP and RSS machine did nothing but spread lies. BJP and RSS people try to spread hatred wherever they go. But this country is a place of love and peace."
Rahul Gandhi defended senior party leader Salman Khurshid over his "blood on party's hands" remarks, saying he would allow "divergent views to flourish in the party", but asked partymen to fight together in the ideological battle against the RSS.
He said, "In our party, we welcome different opinions. A few days back, Salman Khurshid expressed a different opinion. I want to say: I will be the first one to protect Salman Khurshid. But when we are fighting RSS, we have to be united."
9. Rahul on Modi's visit to China: Reacting to Modi's recent informal visit to China, Gandhi said, "In Doklam, China is making helipads. And the Indian Prime Minister is having discussions in China without any agenda. What kind of a prime minister is this? This is why the people of India are angry with the government today," ANI reported.
He added the Chinese army stationed itself in Doklam yet Modi is sipping tea with Xi peacefully, without uttering a word on Doklam.
10. Rahul on Dalits: Rahul Gandhi said Dalits, minorities and women in every state are facing atrocities due to BJP rule and yet Modi says nothing and takes no measures to nullify it.
With Agency inputs