Churu/Alwar: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi yesterday launched a direct attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while making an emotional pitch among voters in poll-bound Rajasthan.
The BJP hit back asking if he had any solutions to India’s current problems. Voting for the assembly in the state is slated December 1 and counting December 8 in an election where the Congress is trying hard to retain power ahead of the 2014 national polls.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi accused the BJP of sparking communal tensions for political benefits. “I am against the kind of politics BJP does as they spark fire of tension for political benefits ... they hurt people for political gains,” said Gandhi.
“They (BJP) will go to Muzaffarnagar and set fire. They will go to Gujarat and set fire. They will go to (Jammu and) Kashmir and will do the same. We have to run from pillar to post to douse the fire.”
Deriding the BJP’s divisive politics, he said he wanted the people of India to be united.
However, Gandhi surprised the crowd with his praise for former vice president and BJP stalwart Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.
“Shekhawatji deserves respect as he was a Hindustani leader first and then a Rajput leader,” he said. In reaction, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said: “Rahul Gandhi has nothing to offer for the current problems of India.” Prasad targeted the central government over the high prices of onions, saying, “The government, it appears, has lost control.”
Gandhi equated the plight of the people of Uttar Pradesh’s riot-ravaged Muzaffarnagar district with himself. IANS
