Cong president blames Kejriwal for taking a ‘U-turn’ on alliance in the Capital
At his first election rally in the Capital, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday made a sales pitch to the trading community in the Chandni Chowk constituency by promising them a simplified Goods and Services Tax, employment and ease of doing business for small and medium start-up enterprises in exchange for a vote.
“People feel that the Nyay [Minimum Income Guarantee] Scheme is only for rural areas. It is not. The scheme will bring prosperity to business and create employment as it will put money in the hands of the people. The people will then spend that money in your shops in Chandni Chowk and improve business. It will also generate employment as factories that produce the goods you sell will start hiring back people that lost their jobs during demonetisation,” Mr. Gandhi said.
He attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making false promises and destroying small and medium businesses in the city. Mr. Gandhi said it was only the Congress party that could provide the fuel to get the businesses running again.
Lashing out at AAP, Mr. Gandhi said he had reached an agreement with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to form an alliance in Delhi to defeat the BJP. AAP was supposed to contest four seats and the Congress three but Mr. Kejriwal took a U-turn and went back on his word by insisting on a tie-up in Haryana and Punjab as well, he said.
“I ask the people of Delhi. Who opened the door for the BJP to enter Delhi? It was AAP that spread lies about the Congress and came to power. Now, everybody is suffering because of the BJP and AAP’s lies that brought them to power,” Mr. Gandhi said.
Commenting on a remark that Mr. Modi made against his father Rajiv Gandhi, the Congress president said, “The Prime Minister insulted a martyr and has been spreading hate against my family members and deceased relatives. But no matter how much hate he spews at me, I love him because my elders have taught me that you cannot defeat hate with hate. You can only defeat it with love.”
‘PM using hatred tool’
He added that Mr. Modi was using hatred as a tool because “he is scared of being defeated. He cannot win the election based on work he had done,” Mr. Gandhi said. Congress candidate from Chandni Chowk Jai Prakash Agarwal at the meeting said the entire country was looking towards Mr. Gandhi to revive small businesses that have been ruined over the past five years.
DPCC president Sheila Dikshit presided over the meeting and said as long as the Congress party was in Delhi, there was progress.
She added, “People need to vote for the Congress to bring back the prosperity. Last time you made a mistake to bring the BJP and see how you have suffered.”
