New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged on Sunday that the BJP was using “distraction strategies” and predicted that the saffron party would face an unexpected outcome in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing an event in Delhi, Gandhi also expressed confidence that his party would emerge victorious in the forthcoming state elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan. Additionally, he suggested that the Congress had a competitive edge in Telangana as well.
Gandhi also touched upon topics such as the government’s ‘One Nation One Election’ proposal, the ongoing ‘India or Bharat’ discussion, and the controversy surrounding BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s offensive comments about Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) MP Danish Ali. He characterized these issues as strategies employed by the saffron party to divert attention.
“It’s a distraction and the main issues in India are very simple, they are- huge inequality in wealth, massive unemployment, huge unfairness towards lower caste, OBC, tribal community, price rise. BJP can’t contest those, so let’s have Mr. Bidhuri make a statement, let’s get together and have elections together, let’s change the name of India, these are all distractions, we know it, we understand it, but we are not going to let them do it,” Gandhi said
Regarding the Women’s Reservation Bill, the Wayanad MP commented that the BJP displayed a lack of genuine commitment to it. He accused them of taking no concrete actions for the benefit of women in the nation. Additionally, he called for the prompt enactment of the Bill.
“It can be implemented tomorrow morning, it’s very simple and there is nothing more to it. If the BJP was serious about doing it, that’s what they would do and there is no connection between giving women reservation and census and delimitation. They are not connected and it’s a distraction,” he said.
He claimed that the BJP’s “politics centered on hatred” has had a detrimental impact on Manipur, resulting in ethnic conflicts between the Meitei and Kuki communities.
“I have never seen what I saw in Manipur in my entire life. When we arrived in Manipur, the Meiteis warned us not to bring Kuki members as a part of our security; otherwise, they would kill them. Similarly, the Kuki people warned us against bringing security personnel from the Meitei community,” Gandhi said.
The BJP did not provide an immediate response to Gandhi’s statements made during the conclave. The two-day event was previously inaugurated by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The gathering features a lineup of various political figures and artists, including BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, Bollywood director Imtiaz Ali, singer Papon, and more, who are anticipated to address the audience during the event.