RAHUL GANDHI ATTACKS MODI IN AGRA

Agra April 15 (IANS)

 

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi tore apart Modi's 'toffee model' that only helped the rich at the cost of the poor.

 

Rahul Gandhi was addressing a public rally at the historic Ram Lila ground opposite the Agra Fort.  Since he arrived  five hours late from Maharashtra, the crowd thinned out and hardly 2500 people were left at the ground. The rally finished around 10 pm.

 

Rahul said it was a clash of ideologies in this election. "The Congress ideology is moulded and inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and Dr BR Ambedkar, while their ideology was centred around Godse, riots in Gujarat, Muzaffarnagar, Maharashtra and other parts."

 

We want progress with egalitatianism, reduction in the gap between the rich and the poor. Their 2004 balloon of India shining burst pathetically and again in 2009 they were defeted. 2014 will be no different. The balloon will burst again, Rahul said.

 

Our programmes our all inclusive, breaking the barriers and bringing people together, he said.

 

Talking of the Gujarati Toffee model, Rahul said 45,000 acres of land belonging to farmers given to one industrial house at one rupee a metre, the cost of a toffee. For Nano plant Rs 10,000 crores worth of loans were given at 0.1 percent interest. 40 percent people have no drinking water. "As a people there was nothing wrong with Gujaratis who are hard working businessmen, but the model now being imposed in that state has hit the small units and business has suffered. Farming land is being acquired for the industrial houses."

 

Now Advani has gone out. Its Modi plus Adani, Rahul said.

 

Rahul said UPA-III will give an international airport to Agra, one hour fast train to Delhi, a software park in the Taj city. "Shoes, watches and other products will not have Made in China tag, but Made in Agra." The toffee model means the Taj Mahal will be handed over to some capitalist, he added.

 

Our top three priorities after the elections are "free medicines, free hospitalisation by law, a roof for everyone, and pension to all senior citizens.

 

Rahul Gandhi asked where is all the money for marketing and advertising for the Modi campaign coming and they promise to fight corruption. "One big electronic hoarding costs around Rs 5 lakhs and there are hundreds of them all over."

 

Rahul said they had borrowed ideas from our manifesto. "Tomorrow they will promise  their party will nationalise banks, they will bring about green revolution and the computer revolution."

 

Rahul said its not the "netas who run the country, but people like you."

 

They talk of safety for women. "First learn to respect women and then talk of empowerment. They use the police to stalk a lady , resort to phone tapping. Some members of their party beat up a woman in a pub in Karnataka. Thousands of women have disappeared in Chatisgarh."

 

Rahul said all he needed was " love and one or two kurta pajamas from you."