Delhi: Rahul, Kejriwal tussle over ‘broken promises’
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday hit out at his INDIA bloc ally Arvind Kejriwal, using the example of the caste census and industrialist Gautam Adani to argue that there was no difference between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Aam Aadmi Party chief.
At the Congress’s first major poll rally in east Delhi’s Seelampur, Gandhi said neither Modi nor Kejriwal spoke about the caste census, triggering a sharp response from the AAP chief.
“When I talk of caste census, neither Modi nor Kejriwal say a word because both want backward sections, Dalits, tribals and minorities to not get their due. Ask Kejriwal whether he is with the caste census. Ask Modi ji whether he is with the caste census,” Gandhi said.
He said that billionaires such as “Ambani and Adani” bought the country and its resources while the poor were dying with hunger. “Adani and Ambani are doing the marketing for Narendra Modi. Have you ever heard Modi ji talking about them? Has Kejriwal ever spoken about them? He hasn’t spoken a single word,” Gandhi added.
Within the hour, Kejriwal hit back. “Today Rahul Gandhi ji came to Delhi. He abused me a lot. But I will not comment on his statements. His fight is to save Congress, my fight is to save the country,” he said on X.
Gandhi’s comments came amid rumblings within the Opposition coalition that has seen several members – such as the Samajwadi Party, the Trinamool Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) – back the AAP over the Congress in the past two weeks.
In his rally, Gandhi said the AAP chief was following “Modi’s strategy of propaganda and false promises” despite rising pollution, corruption and inflation in the Capital.
“Arvind Kejriwal had talked of removing corruption. Has he removed corruption? Just like Modi ji’s propaganda through the media, making false promises one after another, he (Kejriwal) is following the same strategy. There is no difference at all,” Gandhi said.
Both the Congress and the AAP are part of the INDIA bloc and jointly fought the Delhi Lok Sabha election; but both parties are fighting the February 5 assembly elections separately.
In the rally, Gandhi said that if any person irrespective of religion or caste was attacked, the Congress will stand with them to protect them. He recalled the Congress government under Sheila Dikshit and urged voters to make Congress victorious. “The Congress will ensure development as we did in the past; neither Kejriwal nor BJP can do what we can,” Gandhi told thousands of people at a makeshift rally venue on Zero foota road.
The Congress leader accused the BJP of “spreading hate” “attacking the Constitution” and protecting the interest of billionaires. “You must remember when Kejirwal ji arrived at the time of Sheila Dikshit government. He did a lot of publicity. He promised to clean up Delhi and eradicate corruption and to turn Delhi into Paris. What happened? Now you can’t even walk outside. There is so much pollution. Half of the people remain sick, pollution and inflation keep on rising. Has he eradicated corruption?” Gandhi asked.
Taking another dig at the AAP, Gandhi said that if any Indian citizen irrespective of religion or caste was attacked, “Rahul Gandhi and Congress would be seen standing with them.”
“This is the difference between them and us. When we are needed, when there is violence against you. We will be seen standing together with you. This is our record. We will fight against the ideology of BJP,” he added.
The rally was themed as “Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim and Jai Samvidhan” with images of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr BR Ambedkar replete at the venue. “The Congress’s politics has total clarity. All people of this country are equal and irrespective of their religion or caste, they should be protected. The poorest or poor person of any religion should be able to have the biggest dreams,” Gandhi said.
The Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition promised a caste survey in Delhi if elected CHECK “I had said to Modi ji in Parliament that you do it or not, we will get the caste census done and reservation cap removed in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha when a Congress government comes….We want the poorest of the poor, whether they are Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs or Christians, to dream big… head big companies,” he said.
He urged the people to support the Congress and make it victorious, asserting that the party would ensure Delhi’s development as in the past under Sheila Dikshit’s government.
He said a battle of ideology was currently on in the country. “It is written in the Constitution that India belongs to everyone. The BJP-RSS people spread hatred, make people fight…We walked from Kanyakumari to Kashmir to protect the Constitution. Ambedkar’s Constitution is being attacked by Narendra Modi and the people of BJP-RSS daily,” he alleged.