SEPT 13- Social media is abuzz with the thought that Rahul Gandhi believes Congress can be brought back to power only by keeping people poor and lazy.
At Salumber in Udaipur on September 11, while kick starting Congress’ campaign in Rajasthan for Assembly Elections in December, he coined a new slogan, impromptu, which revealed a mindset bordering on communist ideology:
“Puri roti khayenge, 100 din kaam karenge, muft dawaiyan lenge aur Congress ko jitayenge”
(We will have full rotis, work for 100 days, take free medicines and will vote for Congress).
He coined the slogan in response to Union Minister Girijia Vyas’ concluding remarks that once tribals used to say that “aadhi roti khayenge, Congress ko jitaenge.”
But in the process, he emerged as a young man who believes in keeping the poor poor by asking them to confine themselves to 100 days of work.
The figure 100 days comes from the minimum number of days that MNREGA offers to a workless person to survive.
BJP was quick to react.
Rajendra Rathore, its Rajasthan vice president said: “Most of persons in Rahul Gandhi’s rally were MNREGA labourers. That is why, he spoke about them alone.” Rathore said : “Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother spoke about ‘Garibi hatao in 1970 and he talks about bhukhmari mitao or only three four chapattis in 2013. There is no reference to how to uplift poor through development of the nation.”
Rahul targetted industrialisation too and accused Anil Agarwal of Vedanta (without naming him) as a big industrialist who wasn’t bothered about law and grabbed land in connivance with BJD-BJP government in Orissa.
He gave no vision to build a new India or even Rajasthan where elections are being held. Rather, he castigated the opposition for focusing only on building infrastructure.
This was in response to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s speech on September 10 in Jaipur where he cited Governor Margaret Alva’s anguish over the unmotorable Jaipur-Delhi express highway which was once a model road.
INDIA TODAY
