Just under two weeks ago, opposition parties including the Congress and the Trinamool Congress united against the Centre over delimitation. They accused the Modi government of using women’s reservation as a pretext to shift the balance of power in Parliament, ultimately leading to the bill’s defeat.
However, ahead of the second phase of West Bengal assembly elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi trained his guns on TMC supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee, putting her in the same category as Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha accused both Modi and Banerjee of prioritising the interests of the rich over the poor while prioritising power.
Speaking at an election rally in Serampore, Hooghly, Rahul said PM Modi “claims to be a patriot but is selling off the country,” and alleged that both the BJP at the national level and the TMC in West Bengal have failed to create jobs. "They want power but don’t work for people," he said, adding that the prime minister spreads "hatred and fear" wherever he goes.
Gandhi framed the political contest as a clash of two ideologies. "It is the Congress' unity and brotherhood against the BJP and RSS' hatred and violence," he added. He also slammed Modi for hurting small industries by implementing GST and demonetisation unscientifically.
Pointing out that only Congress can ideologically challenge the BJP, Rahul then targeted the Left Front and the TMC for destroying the industries in West Bengal over the years.
He then recounted how his Bharat Jodo Yatra sought to promote unity while the "BJP spreads violence across the country and the TMC does the same in West Bengal."
The Congress leader also alleged that the Modi government is compromising India’s interests in the potential trade deal with the United States, claiming the government is "selling out the country's agriculture sector, small and medium industries, energy security and also handing over India's data to the US."
"If India buys Rs 9.5 lakh crore worth goods from America, then our country's small and medium industries will close down," he said.
Gandhi further accused the BJP of "specialising in stealing votes" in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana while bringing down the Congress government in Karnataka by using illegal means.
He accused the TMC of weakening West Bengal’s economy and enabling the BJP’s rise in the state.
Highlighting unfulfilled promises, he noted that Modi had pledged two crore jobs annually and Banerjee had promised five lakh jobs in West Bengal, but said both had failed to deliver. "Mamata Banerjee is doing in West Bengal what Narendra Modi is doing across India," he said.
Addressing another rally in Metiabruz, South 24 Parganas, he accused the BJP of trying to win elections in West Bengal through unfair means.
"I am not afraid of Narendra Modi, it is the other way around," Rahul said. He insisted that there should never be a BJP government in the state while accusing Mamata of indirectly helping the saffron party gain ground.
