Karauli (Rajasthan), April 20 (IANS) Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi Sunday came down heavily on the Gujarat model of development touted by the BJP and its prime ministerial aspirant Narendra Modi.
Gandhi said it is more of a "toffee model" that has benefitted only some industrialists in the western state while ignoring the interests of farmers and the poor.
The Gandhi scion was addressing an election rally in Rajasthan's Karauli town, over 200 km from the state capital Jaipur.
Gandhi alleged that 45,000 acres of land has been given to an industrialist for a mere Rs.300 crore. "The land of the poor and the farmers was sold at Re.1 per metre ... For Re.1, you get a toffee here. There, land was sold at Re.1 per metre," he said.
"(L.K.) Advani and Jaswant Singh have been sidelined and if (Atal Bihari) Vajpayeeji would have been in public life, he would also be facing similar situation."
The Congress vice president accused the BJP of copying the Congress manifesto.
"We visited people across the country and spoke with them to know what they want. On the basis of their demands and concerns, we prepared a manifesto, but all BJP did was to copy ours," said Gandhi.
He added the BJP replaced the picture of 'haath' (hand which is Congress party sign) with that of a 'kamal' (lotus which is the BJP sign) on the manifesto cover.
He added most of the promises made in the BJP's manifesto have already been fulfilled by the Congress.
"They are saying they would provide one rank one pension. However, we have already implemented this scheme... they are saying they would build a manufacturing corridor, we have already started working on this industrial corridor," said Gandhi.
The Congress, he said, wants to give power to common men rather than a handful of industrialists.
Gandhi said: "We have taken 15 crore people out of poverty in the last 10 years."
The Congress is a party for the weak, poor and the farmers, he said.
"There is a difference between us and the opposition. We care about all, they do politics for a select few. They talk about Gujarat development, we talk about poor and downtrodden and giving rights," he added.
Taking a dig at Narendra Modi's comment that "I (Modi) don't want to become prime minister, want to be a chowkidar", Gandhi, without naming anyone, said: "BJP talks about chowkidar (watchman) of tijori (safe). But I have heard that chowkidars also steal. We (the Congress) want to empower all Indians."
As Rahul Gandhi spoke, partymen raised slogans in his support.
"We launched free medicines scheme in the state when we had our government here. Are you getting free medicines now under BJP government?... no ... the BJP only runs government for big industrialists and not for poor or the downtrodden," he added.
"If we come to power, we want to give free medicines and also provide right to shelter to the poor," he said.
State Congress president Sachin Pilot and former chief minister Ashok Gehlot also addressed the rally.
Voting in Karauli-Dholpur and four other constituencies will take place April 24.
South cinema heavy on Bollywood: South cinema is ahead of Bollywood by Rs 1100 crore in earnings, Bollywood superstars are unable to stand before Tamil-Telugu stars
Tomorrow South's much-awaited film RRR is releasing. Since Bahubali, many South films have been heavy on Bollywood cinema. Among the films released after the Corona period, the films of stars like
India moves closer to production of Akash missile, DRDO hands over technology-related information to MSQAA
Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has handed over all the confidential information related to the technology of the Akash weapon system to the Missile Systems Quality Assurance
Ayodhya Ram Mandir: 3.5 to 4 lakh devotees are visiting the temple daily, the number of donation counters increased from 6 to 32
Due to Prayagraj Maha Kumbh, the number of devotees in Ram Mandir has increased three times. Since Makar Sankranti, three and a half to four lakh devotees are visiting daily. Earlier, 80 thousand to
In Corona Country: 8,689 new cases occurred in the last 24 hours, the second-lowest figure in this month; Nearly 5 thousand positive cases reduced
Corona figures in the country have once again brought a big relief. On Monday, 8,689 new patients were found, while 13,575 infected people got cured and 77 patients lost their lives. In this way, the
Second phase of corona vaccination: 25 lakh people registered on the first day, more than 4 lakh people were vaccinated
Around 25 lakh people registered on the Co-Win portal on the first day of the second phase of Corona vaccination in the country. These include 24.5 lakh common people and the rest of healthcare and
Meet Brothers Anjjan Start 2015 on High Note
Mumbai, Jan 21 (IANS) After the success of “Baby doll” last year, the trio of music directors Meet Brothers Anjjan have made a splendid start to 2015 with three of their tracks
Gitanjali Aiyar: Doordarshan's famous anchor Gitanjali Aiyar passed away, a wave of mourning in the journalism world
Geetanjali Iyer, a well-known television anchor of the nineties, is no more with us. There is a wave of mourning in the journalism world after the news of his death. Geetanjali was the anchor of
New revelation in Atul Subhash case: Wife Nikita's name is linked to a person named RJ Siddiqui, such questions are being raised
Nikita's statement, which was recorded in court in the case of AI engineer Atul Subhash, revealed many secrets. Nikita has recorded a statement in the ongoing case in the family court in the matter of
Google's Voice Guided Lane Advisory for 20 Indian Cities
New Delhi, Jan 15 (IANS) Google Thursday launched a voice-guided lane advisory, enabling its users to see and hear voice-guided instructions on which lane they should take, for 20 Indian cities on
Train on new Assam line carries Bengal potatoes
Guwahati/New Delhi, March 27 (IANS) Assam's underdeveloped Barak Valley was brought on the broad gauge rail map on Friday, with the inaugural goods train carrying about 2,300 tonnes of potatoes
