Congress MP Rahul Gandhi led a blistering attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that the latter could not win elections without EVMs and was a monopoly of corruption. At a well-attended rally held in Shivaji Park, to mark the conclusion of the over 6700-km Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the soul of the king resided in the EVMs.
Interestingly, other INDIA bloc partners including NCP Sharadchandra Pawar, Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, the DMK, the National Conference, the Peoples Democratic Party, the Samajwadi Party, the JMM and Communist parties sounded bugle for the Lok Sabha elections with a call to defeat the BJP, clarifying that their fight was not against Modi or Shah or any individual but to save democracy and the Constitution of India.
Rahul Comes Down Heavily On PM Modi
While raising serious doubts over the use of EVMs in polling, Rahul said, "Narendra Modi cannot win any election without EVMs. The soul of the king is in EVMs and also in every institution including the ED, CBI and income tax. We asked why the Election Commission is not ready to match the slips coming out of the EVMs but they declined."
"Narendra Modi is just a mask and an actor. He is not a person with a 56-inch chest but a hollow man. He claimed that many leaders were being threatened and were joining the BJP out of fear, to save themselves from arrest. Without naming former Congress Chief Minister Ashok Chavan's move to join the BJP," Rahul said.
He added that, "A senior leader left the Congress. He cried and told my mother, Soniaji, I am ashamed. I have no courage to fight against these people, against this power. I don't want to go to jail. There is no such thing, thousands of people have been scared. The people of Shiv Sena, people of NCP went like this. Force has made them join the BJP. Referring to the Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said the journey was not Rahul Gandhi's alone but of the entire opposition, and it had to be conducted to flag issues faced by the people."
"Today, the entire country has come together to defend democracy and the Constitution. We had to conduct the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra because today, the media does not cover the important issues of the country. Unemployment, inflation, farmers issues and the Agniveer issue... none of these are seen in the media today", said Gandhi. Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray also strongly targeted the BJP government and Modi.
Uddhav Thackeray's Scathing Attack At PM Modi
BJP is a balloon. The bad thing is, we did the work of filling air in this balloon and now that air has gone into their heads, he claimed. The opposition's fight was against the dictatorship, Thackeray declared. He thanked Gandhi for selecting Mumbai and organising a rally to conclude his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra at the historic Shivaji Park, to drive out the dictatorship prevailing in the country.
Uddhav Thackeray in the rally said, "Mahatma Gandhi gave the Quit India slogan in 1942. Thank you for choosing Shivaji Park for your call to remove dictatorship. The BJP is a balloon. We did the job of filling this balloon (Referring to Shiv Sena's alliance with the BJP and the latters growth). This battle is to save the Constitution. Balasaheb used to say it should start from the courts, he noted. NCP Sharadchandra Pawar chief Sharad Pawar called upon the people to relieve the country of the BJP regime. People who cheated the country with various promises, we must vote them out to get rid of them. Those who hold power had made promises to farmers, dalits, women, tribals and others but these were not fulfilled, he pointed out. Referring to the BJP call for Modi's guarantee, Pawar claimed it was not valid and it would not work. "
He also thanked the Election Commission for stopping advertisements shown on TV with regard to Modis guarantee. Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi founder Prakash Ambedkar targeted the BJP for its Modi ka Parivar campaign, saying, Modi says the country is his family. But a woman from his real family does not live with him. He criticised the BJP-led government over the electoral bonds and asked how a company with limited profit could invest huge amounts in buying these.
Unemployment, Farmer Distress, and Broken Promises in BJP's Governance: Tejashwi Yadav
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejasvi Yadav gave a call to defeat the BJP, saying, There has been no talk of rising unemployment, farmers distress and inflation. Besides, the BJP-led government has not kept its promise of providing two crore jobs annually and depositing Rs 15 lakh in everyones account. He took a swipe at BJP's Modi ki Guarantee campaign and asked whether they could guarantee that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar wouldn't leave them again.
