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TURA: Dressed in white almost like a seer he chose to speak like one. Coming two days after a tragedy hit Garo Hillsin the form of killing of a poll candidate and a day after the Congress government in the state was accused of failure to maintain law and order by India’s union home minister, the Congress chief made no claims and no promise as he landed in Garo Hills on Tuesday for a day-long campaign for his party. Rather he chose the time-tested method of offense being the best form of defense and chose to do what he does best- be the BJP baiter. Just as the BJP had called for a ‘Congress mukt’ India in the 2014 general elections, Rahul has returned the salvo by appealing to voters to ensure a ‘BJP mukt’ Meghalaya in the February 27th elections. “This election is very crucial not just for the people of Meghalaya but the nation as a whole, because the entire country is watching where Meghalaya will go. A BJP victory will encourage the RSS and the BJP to further fragment society. It is time to seriously ponder. The decision of Meghalaya will have an impact all over India,” cautioned Rahul Gandhi during his speech at a campaign in Garobadha, 30 kms from Tura. He charged the BJP of dividing society, communities and religion to further its one agenda dictated from the RSS headquarters in Nagpur. “Narendra Modi (PM) speaks about Vikas (development), but where is it? Look at all the states ruled by the BJP, there is no Vikas, no proper education and no healthcare. They are only instigating one community and religion against another,” alleged the Gandhi scion as he highlighted attacks on churches in Madhya Pradesh, assault on dalits in Jharkhand, among other incidents. From the absconding diamond merchant Nirav Modi who swindled several thousand crores from banks to the allegedly sponsored facelift of churches in the north east which was turned down by the religious heads, Rahul cited everything and condemned every act. “In Meghalaya MLAs are being lured with money by the BJP. From where are they getting such money to spend. It belongs to the common man which has been stolen by people like Nirav Modi. The Prime Minister had told the nation he would be a watchman for the people of the country and yet he couldn’t prevent the theft of their hard earned money,” mocked Rahul while mentioning about the latest financial scam involving the Punjab National Bank (PNB) from where several thousand crores of rupees have been siphoned off by the diamond merchant through dubious ‘Letter of undertakings’. The Conrad Sangma led NPP’s alleged bonhomie with the BJP did not go unnoticed by Rahul Gandhi as he cautioned the people to be wary of the ‘B’ team of the saffron party. “The BJP is using the NPP to enter Meghalaya just like they did in Manipur. The BJP agenda is to destroy the culture of Meghalaya and impose their own from Nagpur. But the people of the state are intelligent and will not allow them. We will stand with you. Do not be afraid to tell them in the face about their hidden agenda,” said the Congress president as he expressed his gratitude to the church in Meghalaya for turning down the central government’s attempt to provide a financial package to them in the name of tourism. “People of Meghalaya have given a resounding NO to the attempts by the BJP and show that they cannot be bought,” said Rahul to applause from the crowds. The plight of farmers, Modi’s Achhe Din or Aadhaar cards, everything received at best a comment, at worst a censure. He accused the Modi government of making Aadhaar mandatory for bank accounts and registration of mobile sim cards as a means of surveillance of the citizens of the country. “Modi started Swachh Bharat but failed to clean India. He came up with ‘Make in India’ project but manufacturing continues to take place in countries like China, Malaysia, Vietnam and other nations. Where is the success story?” asked Rahul as he mentioned about the hardships faced by the common people during the demonetization of currency notes by the prime minister over a year ago. Earlier, in the day he addressed a similar rally at Mendipather in North Garo Hills to boost the support of the party candidates in that district. It was a day when nothing could go wrong for the Gandhi scion. He chose to play a people’s leader, stopping to interact with the excited people on the way, commoners and privilege alike, during his road show at Tura that started from the Dobasipara helipad all the way through the main thoroughfares of town until he reached his hotel in Dakopgre. Scores of people, young and old eagerly awaited his arrival and he did not disappoint getting down at several points to walk and shake hands with eager supporters. He was accompanied by Chief minister Mukul Sangma and scores of SPG personnel who had a trying time in managing the crowds jostling to shake hands with the young leader of the oldest political party in the country. |