Rahul Gandhi slams India’s main opposition over corruption
Wednesday, 12 March 2014 01:13
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REUTERS: Vice-president of India’s ruling Congress party and scion of Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, Rahul Gandhi, on Monday (10) attacked the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying it does not talk about corruption in BJP-ruled provinces.
While addressing a gathering in Tonk district of India’s northwestern Rajasthan Province, Gandhi accused BJP of being number one in corruption.
“Leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accuse us of corruption but they don’t talk about corruption in Rajasthan, Karnataka and Gujarat. You all know the past record of BJP. Do you remember it or not? The BJP government was number one in corruption. So, this time they will again try to repeat their record but the Congress party will stop them from doing it,” said Gandhi.
For the upcoming general elections, the Congress party is trying to bring the 43-year-old heir of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to the forefront, in the hope that the charisma of the family can still bring in votes.
The Congress party, in power for the last decade, is struggling in opinion polls with a string of corruption scandals and a reputation for poor governance engulfing its administration. A resurgent opposition and a neophyte anti-corruption party appear to have a stranglehold on public opinion.
Meanwhile, Gandhi said Congress party practices the politics of rights and respect.
“Congress party is the poor people’s party. In the last ten years, we took out 15 crore people from the clutch of poverty. We brought them above the poverty line. We practice politics of rights, respect and we provide every poor people the right to food, employment and education,” Gandhi also said.
Indian media often presents the parliamentary elections as a face-off between Rahul Gandhi, best known for his famous last name, and BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, who has been lauded by Indian corporate leaders and foreign companies for his business-friendly policies in the western state of Gujarat.
Given India’s diverse and fragmented electorate, neither Modi nor Rahul is expected to win the 272 seats needed for an outright majority. The biggest party will seek to form a coalition with regional parties.
