BJP insults tribals by calling them vanvasi: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party 'insults' the tribal community by calling them 'vanvasi' instead of adivasi and snatches away their forest land to hand it over to industrialists.

Addressing a party rally in Rajasthan, Gandhi also flayed the BJP over the situation in ethnic strife-torn Manipur and said the ideology of the BJP has set the northeastern state on fire.

If Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to douse the fire in Manipur, he can get it done by the Indian Army in two or three days but he wants to keep the fire burning, the Congress leader alleged.

The Congress rally in Mangarh Dham in Banswara district was organised on the occasion of International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, or World Tribal Day. It also marked the beginning of the Congress campaign for the assembly polls in Rajasthan later this year.

Gandhi said the country's land used to belong to Adivasis and they were its original owners, but the BJP coined a new word, 'Vanvasi', which means the ones who live in the forest.

"We call you Adivasi, this country is yours.... They (BJP) say you are not Adivasi, you were not the first inhabitants of India, they say you are Vanvasi, which means you are not the original owners of this country but you live in the jungle. This is an insult to you. This is an insult to Bharat Mata," he told the gathering of largely tribal people.

"You are not Vanvasi, you are Adivasi. BJP and RSS want you to stay in the forest only...(they want that) your children should not become engineers, doctors, lawyers, businessmen. They want...to take away your rights and land," he said.

Whereas, the Congress wants the tribal population to get their rights and their dreams to be fulfilled, he said.

He recalled that his grandmother and former prime minister Indira Gandhi had told him in his childhood that the land of the country used to belong to the tribal people.

"You are the owner of this country, this land is yours and you should get your rights in this country. You are told that you are 'Vanvasi' and then (they) snatch away your own forest from your hands and hand it over to Adani," Gandhi said.

Gandhi further trained his gun on the BJP over the situation in Manipur.

"It has been three months, it seems that Manipur is not a part of India, it is not a state at all.... People are being killed, children are being killed, women are being raped," he alleged.

He also referred to his speech in Lok Sabha earlier in the day and reiterated his allegation that the politics of the BJP has "murdered Bharat Mata" in Manipur.

"Wherever the BJP people go, they try to silence and suppress the voice of India.... They have divided Manipur.... The prime minister did not utter a word," he said.

Gandhi said he and a group of opposition MPs visited relief camps in Manipur, but the prime minister did not go to the state since the violence erupted.

In an apparent reference to BJP leaders, he said, "Wherever they go, they make one fights the other...(they) will spread hatred and violence, will use wrong words about other people. It does not benefit the country."

Manipur has been engulfed in ethnic violence since May 3. More than 150 people have been killed in clashes between the majority Meiteis and the tribal Kuki community.

Appreciating the work of the Rajasthan government, Gandhi said the Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme is the best in the country.

He also launched a scheme, under which free smartphones will be given to 40 lakh women in the first phase, by handing over a mobile device to a girl student.

The beneficiaries of the scheme will be given smartphones from Thursday, officials said.

Gandhi also handed over a food packet to a beneficiary of the Annapurna scheme under which free food items including chana dal, sugar, salt (one kg each), edible oil (one litre), chilli powder, coriander powder (100 gram each) and turmeric powder (50 gram) will be given to beneficiaries.

"We work to connect people. They are spreading hatred all over the country. I took out Bharat Jodo Yatra and worked to connect the country," he said.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra, former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and other leaders also addressed the meeting.