SHILLONG/ JOWAI: It was a regal road show that the ruling Congress hopes would go on to pave the way for a historic re-election in the upcoming Assembly polls on February 27. Whether or not that dream turns into reality only time will tell, but there is no denying the fact that AICC president Rahul Gandhi’s mass connect programme in the city on Wednesday was a massive show of strength organised to bolster the party’s prospects days ahead of the Assembly polls.
Immediately after landing at the helipad in Upper Shillong, Rahul headed towards the capital city with senior party functionaries accompanying him. And in the true spirit of a mass leader, he got off his vehicle in between to interact with the hundreds of people who had lined up along the stretch to catch a glimpse of the Gandhi scion.
On reaching Khyndailad, the commercial hub of the city, Rahul addressed a packed rally and, as is his wont, trained his guns at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the BJP’s divisive ideology and the PNB scam involving Nirav Modi.
Several Congress candidates including Ampareen Lyngdoh, Manas Chaudhuri, Charles Pyngrope and Mohendro Rapsang were present on the dais, not to forget Shillong MP Vincent Pala.
Launching a scathing attack on Modi over the PNB fraud, Rahul said the Prime Minister didn’t have time to explain to people how Nirav Modi swindled Rs 22,000 crore and escaped to the UK.
“The PM always talks about corruption but he doesn’t say as to where the money comes from that goes into funding the BJP’s lavish campaigns,” he said.
For the people
Soon after his address the Congress president mingled into the huge crowd that had gathered at Khyndailad and greeted the people. The security personnel had a tough time managing the ensuing chaos.
Later when Rahul’s convoy passed through GS Road the crowd that had assembled on both sides of the thoroughfare greeted and cheered for him. The AICC chief sent the Special Protection Group shadowing him into a tizzy on several occasions when he got down his vehicle and walked to meet the people eagerly waiting to shake his hand.
The paparazzi hot on his trail did not miss the rare moment when Rahul took an infant in his arms from his mother and cuddled the baby. Later, he suddenly entered a vehicle repairing workshop to greet the workers inside.
Modi’s black magic
Apart from highlighting the PNB fraud, the Congress chief at an election rally in Jowai earlier in the day took a sarcastic dig at the PM saying the BJP had assured on the eve of the 2014 general elections that Modi was a magician who would transform India.
“I must congratulate Modi for living up to this wonderful image of a great magician,” he jibed.
“He has made many things appear and disappear effortlessly. In these four years Modi has made economic stability and jobs disappear from India. The income of farmers and workers has disappeared as also the profits of small and medium businesses,” Rahul said, adding what had appeared during the BJP’s reign were social conflicts and some of the biggest scams in the history of independent India.
“Farmers continue to commit suicide and Modi is doing nothing to help them,” he asserted while addressing thousands of people at Jrisalein playground in West Jaintia Hills.
“The government has given Rs 1,40,000 crore to the 10 richest people in the country. What has also appeared during Modi’s tenure is large concentration of wealth in the hands of a few big businessmen and large, secret donations in the accounts of the BJP,” the Congress president alleged, adding scamsters like Vijay Mallya, Lalit Modi and Nirav Modi have “also magically disappeared from India and reappeared in foreign lands, out of the reach of Indian law”.
Rahul further alleged that Modi chooses to spend hours instructing students how to write their exams in ‘Mann Ki Baat’ but does not take out a minute to tell the people how Mallya and Nirav Modi managed to escape with thousands of crores of taxpayer’s money.
The rally was attended by Congress candidates from West Jaintia Hills including Jopthiaw Lyngdoh from Nartiang, Nehmayah Tyngkan from Mowkaiaw, TS Diolinda Dkhar from Khliehriat, Andrew Shullai from Jowai and Hollando Lamin from Amlarem constituency. Two candidates, Wanjop Susngi from Raliang and Shitlang Pale from Sutnga, could not be spotted, however.
Pala chaired the meeting in the presence of RC Laloo and AICC general secretary CP Joshi.