‘There’s anger against government’: Gandhi holds rally in Amethi, his former seat
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the central government on Saturday (December 18) at a rally in Amethi, his former Lok Sabha constituency, in Uttar Pradesh.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadhra, his sister and the party’s UP in-charge, was by Gandhi’s side during his second visit to Amethi since his 2019 defeat to the BJP’s Smriti Irani.
“Every lane in Amethi is still the same,” Gandhi told the assembled electorate, “only that there’s anger against the government in people’s eyes.”
“In the hearts, there is space just like before. We are still united against injustice,” he added as he led the anti-inflation rally.
“I came into politics in 2004. Amethi was the city where I contested my first election. People of Amethi have taught me a lot about politics. You have shown me the way to politics and I want to thank each and everyone.”
#Amethi की हर गली आज भी वैसी ही है- सिर्फ़ जनता की आँखों में अब सरकार के लिए आक्रोश है।
दिलों में आज भी पहले सी जगह है-
आज भी एक हैं हम,
अन्याय के ख़िलाफ़!#PratigyaPadyatra https://t.co/ZAv0UpNjPf— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 18, 2021
In his speech Gandhi referred to India’s border dispute with China, farmers’ deaths during the recent agitation against the Centre’s farm laws, and the difference between Hinduism and Hindutva.
“A Hindu spends his whole life walking the path of truth. A Hindu never succumbs to his fear – he faces all his fears. He never lets his fear turn into anger, hatred. But a Hindutvawadi only uses lies to stay in power. Mahatma Gandhi-ji said a Hindu’s path is that of satyagraha,” said Gandhi, the Congress MP from Kerala’s Wayanad.
Saturday’s six-kilometre march in Amethi came exactly a week after top Congress leaders – including Sonia Gandhi – held a rally in Rajasthan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been frequenting UP, which goes to polls next year, over the past few weeks to launch several government projects months.
Also read: Modi opens Phase I of Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi
Targeting the BJP government in the state and the Centre, Gandhi spoke about Modi’s recent Varanasi visit to inaugurate the Kashi Vishwanath Dham corridor. “You are aware of the situation today. Unemployment and inflation are the biggest questions that neither the chief minister nor prime minister will answer. Modi was taking a dip in Ganga a few days back but won’t talk about unemployment. I’ll tell you why the youth is deprived of employment.
“Middle-class people and the poor were badly affected by some of the decisions taken by the PM, which also resulted in large-scale unemployment. Demonetisation, wrongly implemented GST, no help during the COVID crisis are the major reasons for unemployment in India,” he said.
