New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the drubbing faced by the BJP in assembly elections was a message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he had fulfill his promises and asserted that a united opposition will defeat BJP in the next year’s Lok Sabha polls as well.
Addressing a press conference here, he said that “it is time for change” and that the Congress will provide a new vision to the country to address the problems like unemployment, agricultural crisis.
To a question, he said while the congress was determined to fight the ideology of BJP, it did not want the country to be “mukt (free) of anybody,” an apparent swipe at Modi who has been talking of “Congress Mukt Bharat”.
“I have been saying it for some time, with the resurgent Congress party in the states and other states where the BJP is ruling and the combined opposition, it is going to be very difficult for the BJP to win election. This is a clear message to the PM and BJP that country is not happy with demonetisation, GST and lack of jobs,” he said in response to a question.
Accusing BJP of having arrogance, Gandhi said Modi has “taught” him to be humble.
“PM Modi has taught me what not to do…5 years back he had an opportunity but the hard reality is, what people are saying, is that, arrogance came,” he said.
Attacking the government, he said the demonetisation was a “disaster” and there was “definitely corruption” in the Rafale fighter deal, who’s truth will come out.
“This is a victory of Congress workers who have stood up and fought for our ideologies in difficult circumstances. This is victory of farmers, youth and small business owners and we have a commitment to them and we are going to work towards that government. This is a big responsibility for Congress, to hear these voices and provide an appropriate vision in these states,” he said.
At the same time, he also expressed thanks to the outgoing BJP Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and said, “I also want to thank the outgoing chief-ministers for the work they have done in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and we are going to take over and try and do excellent job. We have a lot of work to do in Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Rajasthan. The two states where we lost, I want to congratulate those also who won in Telangana and Mizoram.”
Speaking further he also said that job and agriculture remain the central issues of present time, in all states.
“There are serious questions being asked about the future of our youngsters, the central question there is how our government intends to give job to millions and millions of Indian youngsters. There is a sense among the youth that that promise of job by our Prime Minister has not been fulfilled. The same felling is there among the farmers, there is serious discontent, inability to see the future, inability to understand how they are going to survive and thrive in the field of agriculture. I think that has had a big impact,” said Gandhi.
Talking about his party’s vision in the state where they are forming a government, he said, “We are going to work in these states and try and ensure that we can give a vision and future. Certainly it is pretty clear that there is a felling among the people in our country, that what was committed by PM Modi, he has not been able to deliver. That has been pretty clear throughout the campaign.”
“Employment and farmer issue are the central issues. We need to find a strategic solution for these two issues and need to give a new vision. The promises that PM did in terms of economy have not been fulfilled,” he added while asserting that opposition is united and would fight together.
While speaking on what would happen in Madhya Pradesh, if Congress lacks few seat, he said, “BSP and Congress have same ideology, there is not going to be an issue of chief minister’s post, it will happen very easily.”
He once again attacked Prime Minister Modi on Rafale issue and said that it is clear to people that there has been a corruption.
He said, “When PM was elected he won on three platform namely employment, agriculture and fight against corruption. But now it is in people’s mind that Prime Minister himself is corrupted. This is also a reason for win in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. This is a reality that there has been corruption in Rafale and truth will come out.”
He also asserted that Congress was very flexible and open for coalition but the talks didn’t go through as expected.
Gandhi scion also reiterated his past stance on EVM and said, “Throughout the world it is a generic question that EVM has problems. If people are uncomfortable with EVM it has to be addressed. The central issue concerning EVM still remains. There is a chip in EVM which can be impacted and the whole election can be manipulated. The question of EVM is still on the table.”
Earlier in the day, Celebrations were witnessed outside Congress offices in various parts of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh owing to the favorable trends in the two states.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]