Abid Bashir/Amir Tantray
Srinagar/Jammu, Sep 23: Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi today took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendera Modi for talking about “man ki baat” and forgetting the “kaam ki baat” stating that J&K was not only downgraded to a UT but “this place is not ruled by outsiders against the wishes of people.”
Addressing a massive rally in the Central–Shalteng constituency of Srinagar, Rahul said that J&K has not only been reduced to a UT from being a State but it has been ruled by the “outsiders directly.” “The Lieutenant Governor is Raja who is working against the wishes of people here. He doesn’t know how to work,” Rahul said.
He took a dig at PM Modi for talking high in his “Man ki baat” but forgetting the “Kaam ki baat.” “Kaam Ki baat means to address the unemployment and to restore Statehood in J&K,” Rahul said, adding that the fact is nobody listens to Man ki Baat of PM Modi now.
He said before Lok Sabha polls, it was stated that Modi has a 56 inch chest. Earlier, he would speak with chest spread but INDIA alliance managed to break Modi’s psychology. Modi’s confidence is lost. He is the Modi of earlier days,” Rahul said.
“I see him very closely in the Lok Sabha while people see him on TV. His mood has changed and his face has changed. Credit goes to INDIA alliance for this,” he said.
He said BJP leaders spread hatred and pitched brother against brother. “They have spread hatred across the country. Hatred is not dealt with Hatred but with love,” Rahul said.
From Kanyakumari to Kashmir, Rahul said, he walked 4000 kms. “Wherever BJP had opened the shops of hatred, we closed them and opened the shops of love. We will continue to do the same,” he said.
He said this is for the first time that J&K as a state was downgraded to a UT. “We had seen UTs being converted into States. “We want Statehood to be restored as soon as possible so that J&K becomes a State again,” he said. “We wanted this to happen before elections but BJP didn’t.”
He said Congress will build pressure on BJP to restore the Statehood post polls. “If they don’t do it. I guarantee you that we will do it as it is your democratic right,” said Rahul.
Earlier, in Surankote, Rahul while addressing a massive rally in support of Congress –NC alliance candidate Muhammad Shahnawaz Choudhary at Surankote, said:
“We wanted the government to return the statehood to Jammu and Kashmir before elections but this couldn’t happen. But after elections we will force the Modi government to do that and if they can’t do it we will do it ourselves,” Gandhi said, with a huge round of applause from the people.”
The Congress party’s star campaigner said that it is for the first time in the history of India that a state has been downgraded to Union Territory (UT). “We have seen UTs being converted to states. State being divided and new states being made but not that any state has been downgraded to UT. It is for the first time in the history of India that such a thing has happened.”
Targeting BJP and RSS, Rahul Gandhi said that they only believe in spreading hate and violence and this is what they have done in Jammu and Kashmir and in the rest of the country. “But you can’t end hate with hate but love. This is the ideological battle of hate and opening shop of love. I travelled from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and from Manipur to Maharashtra and shops of love have been opened everywhere. We have spread only one message that hate helps none.
