Rahul Accuses Modi And Kejriwal Of Undermining Interests Of Minorities

New Delhi: In his first campaign speech for the Delhi assembly elections on Monday evening, Congress senior and leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi accused both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal of undermining the interests of minorities and backward communities. “Hindustan sabka hai, aur Constitution sabse jaruri hai,” he said.

At the rally in Seelampur, a constituency in northeast Delhi with a large Muslim population, Rahul said that an ideological battle was raging across the country, with opposing forces taking distinct positions. “One faction wants to guard constitutional values, while the other seeks to dismantle our country’s foundational principles,” he said. “The Constitution explicitly states that India belongs to all its citizens, regardless of their caste or cultural background. However, BJP and RSS continue to engage in divisive politics, fostering conflicts between communities and undertaking actions that threaten the constitutional framework. We walked 4,000km from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in our fight to save the Constitution.”

Criticising AAP, a member of his own INDIA alliance, Rahul challenged Kejriwal to clarify his stance on backward class reservation and caste census. “Both Prime Minister Modi and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal do not even speak about the caste census. Because both don’t want backward communities, Dalits, tribals and minorities to get their rights. You should ask PM Modi and Arvind Kejriwal whether they support the caste census or not.”

While assuring over 50% reservation in the city, the Congress MP added, “After we form govt in Delhi, we will get a caste census done and it will help to verify how much participation the Dalits and minorities have in Delhi govt and private institutions. Only Congress can give all backwards their rightful participation in all sectors.”

He claimed that though 50% of India’s population consisted of backward classes and 15% minorities in addition to tribals, but this wasn’t reflected in both govt institutions and the judiciary. “The central govt is run by 90 IAS officers and of them, only three are from the backward class,” he alleged.

Rahul was critical of BJP and APP for economic disparities in society. “Both Kejriwal and Modi assured the people that inflation would fall. But nothing happened,” he said. “In fact, inflation is at a peak. Poor people are becoming poorer and rich people are becoming richer. Ambani and Adani do marketing for PM Modi. Have you ever heard Modi or Kejriwal saying anything about Adani?”

He went on, “For us, all the people of this country are equal. Love will defeat hatred in this country. You see the politics I have engaged with in my entire life — as long as I am alive if any Indian is attacked, no matter who the person is, whatever the person’s religion or caste, you will find Rahul Gandhi there protecting him.”

According to him, when former CM Sheila Dikshit ran a Congress govt in Delhi, Kejriwal campaigned against the party on the promise to end corruption and make Delhi clean. He also said Delhi would get the infrastructure of Paris. “But nothing happened. Rather, pollution is increasing, cancer is increasing and people are finding it difficult to breathe. The fact is that both Kejriwal and BJP have the same strategy for politics and that is to make fake promises,” Rahul maintained.

Speaking at the rally, Udit Raj, the former MP from north-west Delhi, criticised Kejriwal for his alleged anti-Dalit stance. “AAP threw out former minister Rajendra Pal Gautam because he tried implementing the 22 principles of the Constitution aggressively. In fact, all three ministers ousted from AAP are Dalits,” alleged Raj. “AAP has decided to give salaries to pujaris, but what about the priests working in 31 Budhvihar mandirs, 150 Ravidas mandirs and 150 Balmiki mandirs. We will gherao Kejriwal’s house on Jan 20 in protest.”

Raj said AAP’s silence during significant incidents, including the northeast Delhi riots of 2020, and communal incidents in other parts of the country indicated that Kejriwal’s approach was as communal as BJP’s.

Former DPCC president Anil Chaudhary charged Union home minister Amit Shah with insulting Baba Saheb and every belonging to the Dalit community in his speech in the Rajya Sabha.

For his part, DPCC president Devender Yadav said, “Kejriwal promised to end corruption, institute the Lokpal, open more hospitals and schools. He has done nothing. Only corruption proliferated with 25 of their MLAs, including CM and deputy CM, going to jail.”

Courtesy : TOI

Note: This news is originally published on timesofindia.com and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially for human rights.