Congress leader Rahul Gandhi targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government on Saturday over the use of central agencies. Addressing the party’s ‘Chintan Shivir’ at Dwarka town of Gujarat, he said that the BJP has Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED), police and ‘goons’, but what ultimately matters is truth, which Gujarat has taught the people of the country.
The Gujarat unit of the Congress is holding a three-day brainstorming session called ‘Chintan Shivir’ from Saturday to chalk out a detailed strategy for the upcoming state Assembly polls. The state election is expected to be held in December this year.
Addressing the session, former party chief Rahul Gandhi talked about Mahatma Gandhi. “Congress was born from Gujarat. At that time, the Congress party had risen in every state but the ideology and the direction were given by a Gujarati.” He said.
“There were many people including Jawaharlal Nehru ji, Sardar Patel ji, Subhash Chandra Bose ji. But the strategic direction was given by Mahatma Gandhi,” he said.
Gandhi further urged his party members to accept that his party has won the state election. “You have won this election and you just have to accept this. The people of Gujarat are looking at you. You are thinking that you are fed up with BJP but the party has caused 10 times more damage to the people of Gujarat than yours,” he told the party workers.
In a further attack on BJP, he said that the party’s ‘Gujarat Model’ has no ventilators and oxygen cylinders when people were dying from COVID-19.
“BJP’s politics is damaging Gujarat. The strength of this state is small and medium businesses, but Narendra Modi ji ended this strength. Goods and Services Tax (GST), demonetisation and the policies of the government at the time of COVID-19 pandemic broke the backbone of Gujarat,” Gandhi said, adding that the state is understanding this.
Now the problem is that when the people of Gujarat look towards the Congress, they are not able to know what this party wants to do, how it wants to do it and who will do it? he said, adding that this has been done because the media has created confusion.
“Congress party is an organization. It is an organization of all of you, it is the organization of youth of Gujarat, it is the organization of small-medium business people of Gujarat. You all have to do the job of handling this organization,” he added.
The three-day session will be attended by Congress’ MLAs in Gujarat, key state-level leaders, presidents of district units and heads of different cells and departments, such as women wing, Seva Dal and NSUI, reported news agency PTI citing state party president Jagdish Thakor.
During the three-day meet, party leaders and subject experts will share their views about the issues faced by the people of Gujarat and how the state Congress can highlight these issues to make people aware in the state, Thakor was quoted as saying.
