Rahul slams Ram Temple event for wooing the wealthy, neglecting tribal President and poor

Chandauli (UP), Feb 16 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, saying a red carpet was rolled out for industrialists and billionaires at the Ram Temple consecration ceremony but the "tribal President" or the poor, unemployed youths and farmers were not seen at the event.

Addressing an event in Chandauli after the Congress' 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' entered Uttar Pradesh from Bihar, Gandhi also took a dig at the media, claiming they do not talk about unemployment, inflation and farmers' issues.

There are two prominent issues before the country -- unemployment and price rise. Another pressing issue is social justice, the former Congress chief said.

"Work is being done for billionaires in the country. Farmers' land is being snatched away, inflation is increasing and unemployment is rising. But have you ever seen these on TV?" he posed.

Gandhi alleged that the media will talk about movie stars and will "lecture" on Pakistan but it will "not tell you about unemployment and inflation".

Referring to the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya last month in which Prime Minister Modi was the chief guest, the Congress leader said movie stars, industrialists, "all the billionaires of India" and a few BJP leaders were seen at the function.

In an apparent reference to President Droupadi Murmu, he said, "Did you see the tribal President? There was no room for the President, the poor, the labourers or for the unemployed youth." Gandhi told the gathering that a red carpet was rolled out for the industrialists and the rich.

He claimed that the country was witnessing a conflict between two ideologies.

"One ideology is pitting brothers against each other. By doing so, they are taking wealth from your pockets and handing it over to the billionaires. The second ideology is opening 'mohabbat ki dukaan' (shops of love) in the 'nafrat kaa bazaar' (market of hate) and handing over your wealth and rights to you," he said.

The start of the Uttar Pradesh leg of the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' saw the president of the Congress' Bihar unit Akhilesh Prasad Singh handing over the flag to his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Ajay Rai in the presence of Rahul Gandhi.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has said that he will join the Yatra in Rae Bareli.

The Yatra will traverse through Uttar Pradesh before entering Rajasthan. The East-West Manipur-Mumbai Yatra traverses 6,700 km through 15 states and aims to highlight the message of "nyay" (justice) while meeting common people on the way. PTI