Thiruvanthapuram/Pathnamthitta: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he was “exploiting” the valour of the jawans and their sacrifices for political gains. Criss-crossing through four districts of Kollam, Pathnamthitta, the ground zero of Sabarimala protests, Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram, Gandhi targeted Modi on a host of issues and hit out at the Sangh Parivar but refrained from attacking the CPI-M-led LDF government in the state.
“If the Army and Air force carries out an action, the credit is fully theirs,” Gandhi said addressing a massive gathering of party workers in Thiruvanathapuram. “It is shameful that PM does not give them credit. Because they are the people who gave their blood.It is their families who suffer and they deserve the credit,” Gandhi said. On the Pulwama terror attack, the Congress chief said his immediate reaction was not to politicise the matter.
“This was not a political issue to be exploited. I refuse to exploit our martyrs and jawans. But this is not what our PM thinks. Our PM exploits the valour of our jawans for his political gains,” he said. Targeting Modi on alleged corruption in the Rafale jet deal, demonetisation and rising unemployment, Gandhi attacked the saffron forces for “imposing” one ideology. The congress chief said his party does not want to impose a single ideology. “Congress does not want to impose one ideology or one thought, while the saffron parties wants to impose one idea,crush others,” he said.
While Gandhi went all out to attack Modi and saffron outfits, he was soft on the CPI(M), saying the left has never questioned the Constitution of India. “We fight with the Left in Kerala. But the Left has never done what the RSS has done to this country. The Left has never questioned the institutions in India. The Left has never questioned the Constitution of India. The Left has never attempted to destroy the institutions in the country,” Gandhi said in Alappuzha.
Despite the scorching heat, thousands of people had gathered at the campaign meetings to hear Gandhi as he criss-crossed through the four districts. In Pathnamthitta, where the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple is located, Gandhi said his party believes in allowing people to express their faith and sentiments and never stop them from “genuinely” expressing their belief.
Gandhi asked whether the prime minister had ever apologised to any traders for the failure of demonetisation and took potshots at Modi who, he said, dresses “immaculately” during his visits abroad changing his attire at least four times. “We have seen him with Nirav Modi, we have seen him hugging Anil Ambani, but never seen him with an unemployed youth or a farmer,” the congress chief said.
On his decision to contest a second seat from Wayanad constituency besides the Congress stronghold of Amethi, Gandhi said his party wants every person in the country to feel that each voice matters and hence he chose Wayanad in Kerala due it its history of tolerance and understanding of different cultures.
Hitting out at the Sangh Parivar at an election meeting at Pathanapuram in Kollam, Gandhi said the country was “under attack” from the BJP and RSS, who want to suppress all voices other than their own. Addressing an election rally at the St Stephen college grounds, Gandhi said India should be ruled by people of the country and not just one ideology or person. Gandhi, who refrained from attacking the left government, however, thanked “every single Keralite, regardless of any party,” for the support given to him to contest from the State.