Halla Bol rally in Delhi: Rahul Gandhi tells PM Modi, 'I am not afraid of your ED'

New Delhi: In a no-holds barred attack on the BJP, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said the saffron party and its ideological parent RSS are dividing the country and creating fear in the country

Rahul Gandhi was speaking at the Congress's mega rally against price rise that began this morning at the Ramlila ground in Delhi. The protest rally is being seen as a show of strength by the grand old party and also sets the stage for Rahul Gandhi to launch the party's 3,500-km 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' from Kanyakumari to Kashmir starting September 7. Rahul Gandhi's pad yatra across the country will aim at highlighting the issues of price rise, unemployment and advocating communal harmony.

He entered the stage during the Congress' "Mehangai par halla bol" rally to chants of "zindabad."

"BJP and RSS divide the country. They develop fear and divide people. Who gets the advantage of this fear? Is it poor, farmer, small traders who is getting any benefit from the Narendra Modi government? Only two corporate people are getting the benefit of hatred and fear, " Rahul Gandhi said.

"BJP giving all the benefits to two people. Now see Narendra Modi did notebandi. Did it help poor? The three laws were not for farmers but it was for those two corporate houses only. But the farmers came on the road and showed their power to Narendra Modi, " he further said.

"I am not feeling good to say this but today the condition is such that even if the country wants, it won't be able to give employment. Because these two corporate houses doesn't give employees. It is small and medium enterprises that give employment and Narendra Modiji has broken their backbone."

Hitting out at PM Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi said, "I am not afraid of your Enforcement Directorate."

"The ED asked me to sit for 55 hrs... but I am not afraid of your ED. Whether it is 55 hrs or five months or five years."

"Narendra Modi's ideology says that country should be divided and the profits from it should be shared among few businessmen."

"Congress gave India the historical MGNREGA, but Narendra Modi government said in the Parliament that it's an insult to poor... today, if there would not have been MGNREGA, there would have been fires in the country. We took 27 crore people out of poverty and the Narendra Modi government, in the past ten years, has pushed 23 crores into poverty. Narendra Modi is taking the country backwards. This will help Pakistan and China and not India. The more there will be hatred and fear, the more the country would weaken... in the past ten years he has weakened the country," Gandhi said.

Ahead of the rally, Delhi police disputed the allegations that Congress members had been detained during a march to protest the rising costs of basic necessities and stated no Congress members had been detained thus far.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra haven't participated in the rally.

"People should have got relief after the pandemic but Modi made inflation has brought disaster. That is why today the Congress party is going to hold a rally on inflation at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi. Come together, raise your voice against inflation," Member of Parliament and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said urging people to gather in this rally.

Congress has been attacking the government over price rise and unemployment and saying that these are issues of the common people and should be discussed at all forums.

Recently, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra lashed out at the central government over unemployment.

"In the year 2021, 11724 people committed suicide in the country due to unemployment. This number is 26% more than the year 2020. The record-breaking unemployment in the BJP government is frustrating the youth. But the government has neither a cure nor an answer for this terrible unemployment. For how long will the government distribute 'jumlas'?" she tweeted.

However, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sambit Patra on Saturday took a jibe at the 'Bharat Jodo Andolan' of Rahul Gandhi and called it a "Gandhi Parivar Bachao" Andolan.

"Congress is starting 'Bharat Jodo Andolan'. So, we would like to tell them that only such a person can unite India, who can leave corruption. This is not a "Bharat Jodo" but a "Gandhi Parivar Bachao" Andolan. I would also like Rahul Gandhi to comment on this and state the truth," the BJP spokesperson said while hitting out at Congress.

The 148-day march will culminate in Kashmir. The five-month Yatra is scheduled to cover a distance of 3,500 kilometres and more than 12 states. The Padyatra (march) will cover a distance of 25 km every day.

The Yatra will include Padayatras, rallies, and public meetings which will be attended by the senior Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The Congress suffered a debacle in the assembly polls held earlier this year and the Yatra is seen as an attempt to rally the party rank and file for the upcoming electoral battles.