The future of both Bihar and the country would be determined by the outcome of the "crucial" polls in the state, Congress President Sonia Gandhi said on Saturday while sharply attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi whom she described as an expert in "packaging and repacking".
Voters of Bihar will decide whether India would move towards "divisiveness or harmony", she said at a poll rally in Kahalgaon near Bhagalpur as she tore into Modi's 16-month rule which she described "harmful" for the country.
Taunting Modi "for spending more time abroad than at home", the Congress President said had repackaged old schemes of the previous government and represented them as new packages because he was an "expert in packaging and repackaging".
She also raked up the issue of reservation, which has become a major talking point in Bihar polls against the backdrop of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's call for review of the quota policy.
Without taking RSS' name, Gandhi said, "there is match fixing going on between Nagpur and BJP. But I want to tell you that Congress is committed to Constitutional provisions on SC, ST and OBC quotas."
Calling the ensuing assembly elections as "decisive, Gandhi said, "Bihar is at crucial crossroads. From here will be determined the future of both Bihar and the country. You have to decide whether from here on the country will move towards divisiveness or harmony."
"Modi is trying to mislead the people of Bihar. The package he announced is more farcical than real. What is the truth of this package?
"The prime minister, an expert in packaging and repackaging, has simply rehashed old schemes of previous governments and presented them as a new package. What not he has said to belittle the people of Bihar," she said, asking people to choose whether they are with secular forces or those which divide the country.
Targeting the prime minister on his foreign trips, she said, "Narendra Modi loves going abroad very frequently. He loves embracing famous people but he has no time for the poor. He should go abroad but should stop playing politics of pretension with the people who reposed faith in him."
Addressing another poll rally in Wazirganj, she questioned Modi's intention to deliver on promises he had made and blamed the "wrong" policies of his government for "breaking the back of the poor".
"No other prime minister has ever criticised and sullied the image of his political rivals on foreign soil. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done so, showing his narrow mindedness and low-level politics. When he does not bother about the dignity of Bihar or the nation, will he be concerned about your dignity," Sonia said.
Accusing the Prime Minister of going back on his promises made during Lok Sabha polls, the Congress president criticised a number of schemes launched by the NDA government like Jan Dhan Yojna and criticised it for "sky rocketing" prices of pulses.
"Will those who have set aside all their previous promises, fulfil the fresh ones they are making now. No. They will not fulfil them at all. For us, making promises is not a poll 'jumla' (phrase)," she said, alluding to BJP chief Amit Shah's remarks on Modi's promise on blackmoney.
Addressing the gathering in the Magadh region, which is known for production of pulses, the Congress chief sought to project the Modi government as 'anti-poor' which was working only to benefit the rich.
"Pulses have become so expensive that common people cannot buy it. Magadh region is known for pulse production. I want to know whether farmers producing pulses are getting any benefit. No, farmers are getting nothing. Modi government is giving subsidy on imported pulses. Wheat is also imported in large quantity. Did farmers benefit from it? The benefit has gone to the middlemen or their own people," she said.
Attacking the prime minister for his pitch on Jan Dhan Yojna, she asked whether the account holders got Rs 5,000, as promised by Modi, when they opened their bank accounts under the scheme.
"Did you get the money? How many of you have got it? Nobody has got it. What happened to his promise?" she asked. Accusing the NDA government of not passing on the benefits of falling oil prices to the common man, she said the UPA dispensation kept the oil prices low despite the rise in international prices of crude oil.
"You are battling all sorts of problems in daily life for which Modi government is directly responsible. What actions he took to redress your grievances. Why no attention was paid to the problems of our weaver brothers," she said, apprently targeting the large weaving community in the area which plays a decisive role in elections in a number of constituencies in Gaya district, an otherwise BJP stronghold.
She also accused the government of slashing budgetary allocations for a number of social security schemes.
Image: Congress President Sonia Gandhi addressing the rally in Kahalgaon. Photograph: PTI Photo
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