Karnataka: Rahul hits back at PM Modi, says election not about you
new delhi: Hitting out Prime Minister Narendra Modi over playing the victim card, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that Narendra Modi should understand that the Karnataka election was not about him. While taking a dig at Prime Minister Modi’s statement claiming that he was “abused 91 times”, Rahul Gandhi asked the PM to speak about the BJP government’s work and future programmes for Karnataka, instead of talking about himself.
“You (Modi) come to campaign in Karnataka for elections, but don’t speak about Karnataka. You speak about yourself. You have to say what you did in Karnataka for the past three years. You also have to speak in your speeches about what you will be doing in the next five years, what will do for youth, education, health and to fight corruption,” Gandhi said. While addressing a public meeting in Karnataka’s Tumakuru district, Gandhi said, “This election is not about you, it is about Karnataka’s people and its future. You say Congress abused you 91 times, but you never speak about what you did for Karnataka. In your next speech, you speak about what you did and what you will do in the next five years.”
Modi on Saturday targeted the Congress over its party president M Mallikarjun Kharge’s ‘venomous snake’ barb at him and said till now the party and its leaders had hurled various types of abuses at him 91 times.
Claiming that when he comes to Karnataka and gives speeches, he speaks about his party leaders like Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar and about their work, Gandhi said, “We take the names of all our leaders. You (Modi) come here and don’t even take the name of your Chief Minister (Basavaraj Bommai) and (BS) Yediyurappa (former CM). Your speeches are all about Narendra Modi.”
“Try taking the names of Bommai and Yediyurappa too one or two times, they will feel happy,” he said, adding that stating that this election was about Karnataka’s people, youth and mothers and sisters.
“This election is not about one person, not about Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister has to understand this,” he said.
During his speech, Gandhi highlighted Congress’s poll ‘guarantees’ - 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya), Rs 3,000 every month for graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for diploma holders (both in the age group of 18-25) for two years (YuvaNidhi), and free travel for women in public transport buses (Sakhi).
