Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

GANDHINAGAR: Rahul Gandhi on Friday launched his two-day election campaign on Friday with another attack on prime minister Narendra Modi led government, alleging that it delayed the winter session of the parliament to avoid a discussion on thorny issues ahead of assembly polls in the state.

His remarks followed an announcement that the winter session of Parliament will commence from December 15, a day after the second phase of the Gujarat assembly elections.

“They have closed Parliament…every year Parliament opens in November; this year it will not open in November. You see, it is not going to open before elections,” Gandhi told a gathering of Dalits. “Why? Because they don’t want Jay Shah, Rafale deal, and Dokalam issues to be discussed in Parliament before Gujarat elections,” he said.

Talking about the despair of fishermen, he took on the ‘Mann ki Baat‘ to the task and said while the prime minister tells people about his ‘mann ki Baat’, the Congress, when it comes to power, will listen to the ‘mann ki Baat’ of the people. He added that his party will form a separate ministry for fisheries.

He also accused the Modi government of only favoring rich industrialists. “In the last few years, all of the work in Gujarat has been done for just five or ten industrialists…and those industrialists contributed to campaigning for Modi later on,” Rahul said. “But the most important fact is that Gujarat does not belong to five or ten industrialists. It belongs to the farmers and fishermen,” he argued.

Restating his allegation that the government had given Rs 33,000 core to the Tatas for the Nano factory at Sanand, while no Nano car is seen on road, Gandhi claimed that the diesel subsidy of Rs 300 crore for fishermen has been abolished by the government.

Gandhi said fishermen in Gujarat have to go deeper into the sea as the catch has gone down because of increasing population. He alleged that Modi has gifted ports to industrialists instead of doing anything for the state’s fishing community.

Rahul Gandhi visited ‘Dalit Shakti Kendra’, an NGO working for the Dalits in Sanand, near Ahmedabad, and addressed a gathering there.

According to Rahul Gandhi, Rohit vemula did not commit suicide, the government of India murdered him.

“How dare did Rohit Vemula join the university? A letter comes from the minister and his career is crushed. I have said it in Hyderabad earlier and am saying it again. He did not commit suicide. He was murdered by the government of India,” Gandhi said.

He also accepted a huge national flag which party activists had earlier wanted to hand over to Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani. Rupani’s government had turned down the request, citing lack of space.

By brijesh