Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday launched a direct attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of lying to the country about the Chinese incursion in Ladakh and claiming that he has surrendered 1,200 sq.km of India's territory to China because he is only interested in protecting his personal image.
“Modiji says nobody has taken away Indian territory. China knows that this man who occupies the top post cares only for his image and that to protect his image, he will give them 1,200 sq.km of land. Modiji, to protect his own image, has lied about China. He talks about Bharat Mata. He has given 1,200 sq.km of Bharat Mata to China,” Rahul said addressing a press conference in Patiala on the third day of his rally to protest the new farm laws.
“Call him to a press conference and ask him questions like this. Why is he scared of you? Why is he scared of China? Because he wants to protect his image. He goes for a walk alone in the tunnel. He knows he has a monopoly over the media, which will show him walking in the tunnel. He has nothing to do with what is happening in the country. In my assessment, Modiji does not understand the impact of these [farm] laws,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi, who led a tractor rally through Punjab and will also lead a one-day protest against the new farm laws in Haryana, described the legislations as being part of Modi's alleged efforts to “clear the way” for his corporate friends like “Ambani and Adani”. He said that just as demonetisation and GST were aimed at destroying small and medium businesses, the new farm laws would dismantle the existing farm structure. “Ambani, Adani and Modi, that forms a triangular group. Narendra Modi's job is to clear the way for them by finishing the MSMEs, the farmers, the workers,” he said.
Asked about the criticism by his critics that he rode on tractors in the extra comfort of sofa-like cushioned seats, Rahul said he was used to being made fun of. He said when he had sounded a warning about the impact that COVID-19 would have on the country's economy, he was made fun of, and six months later, he stood vindicated. He added that what he was saying today about the impact of the new farm laws would also be proved correct. He further asked why no one asks the prime minister about the luxury jets worth Rs 8,000 crore that he has bought for his travel.
Asked about the police allegedly manhandling him and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as they endeavoured to go to Hathras to meet the family of the rape victim, Rahul said, “the entire country is being pushed around and beaten up. So if I am pushed around a bit, it is no big deal. It is our duty to protect the people of the country,” he said.
The asli dhakka (real push), he said, was dealt to the family of the victim, noting that the entire might of the state was being used to silence their voice. “That is why I went there. I wanted the family to know that they are not alone... a girl is raped and murdered and the entire administration targets the family. The prime minister of the country does not say a word,” he said.
On Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s allegation there is an international conspiracy with regard to the Hathras case, to malign his government, Rahul Gandhi said he was more than welcome to imagine whatever he wanted to. “What I saw was that a lovely girl was molested and her neck was broken and no action was taken against the people who did it. What I saw was a tragedy. The chief minister should have the decency to say that it is a tragedy and that he will look into it and protect the family,” he said.
Responding to the criticism that the opposition was not strong enough to challenge Modi, Rahul said that the framework in which the opposition functions—which comprises the media, the judicial system and other institutions—had been captured by the ruling dispensation. “Give me a free press, give me an institution that is free. We do not have that,” he said, citing as an example the dearth of voices raising questions on the alleged corruption in the Rafale deal. “I cannot think of a country whose 1,200 sq.km is captured, and the media says nothing,” he further said.
In response to the question posed by the Akali Dal that he was not present in Parliament when the farm bills were passed, Rahul Gandhi said he was accompanying his mother, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, for a medical check-up and Priyanka could not go with her as some members of her staff had contracted COVID-19.
