The Congress on Saturday issued a “charge sheet” against the Narendra Modi government, calling the BJP a “party of Bhrasht Jumla” and saying its mantra is “kuch ka saath, khud ka vikas, sabke saath vishwasghaat” (for the benefit of the few, development for self and betrayal of all)’.
The opposition party also said that Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra, will unfurl the national flag at the office of the Pradesh Congress Committee in the Lal Chowk area of Srinagar, followed by a public meeting at the Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium at the culmination of the Kanyakumari march to Kashmir.
At a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Congress general secretary in-charge of communication Jairam Ramesh and organization in-charge of general secretary K C Venugopal also unveiled the logo of the party’s post-yatra program — Haath Se Haath Jodo Abhiyan’.
The logo is similar to that of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, but the only difference is that it has the Congress hand symbol on it, signifying that it will be a 100% political campaign, which cannot be said for a cross-country march, Ramesh said. .
Venugopal said that as part of the Congress campaign, which begins on January 26, the party will take an “indictment” and Rahul Gandhi’s letter with the yatra message to every household.
The charge sheet released by the two leaders called the BJP ‘Bhrasht Jumla Party’ and alleged that its mantra is “Kuch ka saath, khud ka vikas, sabke saath vishwasghat (for the benefit of few, development for self and betrayal of all)”, an apparent rip-off of the government’s slogan ” sabka-saath-sabka-vikas-sabka-vishwas-sabka-prayas”.
The one-page ‘charge sheet’ shared by the Congress is divided into three parts – ‘kuch ka saath’, ‘khud ka vikas’ and ‘sabke saath vishwasghaat’.
Under the “kuch ka saath” (for the benefit of the few) segment of the “fees card”, the party claimed to be waiving loans for a select few entrepreneurs, with the top 10 percent owning 64 percent of India’s wealth and ports and airports. being “gifted” by the Prime Minister’s “close friends”.
In the ‘khud ka vikas’ (development for self) segment, the Congress accused the BJP of spending crores on propaganda and indulging in nepotism.
In the third segment, the party raised several issues such as unemployment, food security, women’s security, farmers’ plight, hate speech, “overthrowing” of elected governments and India’s ranking in international indices in various sectors.
Venugopal said that along with this ‘charge-sheet’, the relevant state units of the party would prepare ‘charge-sheets’ against the state governments as well.
“This is a 100 percent political campaign. That cannot be said about the yatra. It is also the second phase of the yatra. We are trying to reach 10 lakh polling stations, 6 lakh villages and 2.5 lakh gram panchayats,” said Ramesh. .
When asked why Gandhi did not hoist the tricolor at Lal Chowk, Ramesh said that it was not properly reported as the Congress state office is at Lal Chowk and it is only natural that the former party chief and main character of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi, hoists the national flag in party office.
Venugopal said it was considered to have a “permanent structure” for future generations to witness, hence the Congress’s own property was chosen.
He said that the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which is in its final phase, will be in the Kashmir Valley on January 27, 28 and 29.
“The march part will end on January 29. On January 30 at 10 am, Rahul Gandhi will unfurl the national flag at the Pradesh Congress Committee office. At 11 am, a public meeting will be held at the Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar,” Venugopal said, adding that several opposition leaders were invited to the meeting.
He said that at the time Gandhi hoists the national flag, all district congress chiefs will also hoist the tricolor in their respective offices.
Venugopal celebrated the cross-country march, saying it was a “big success” and “became a big movement” in the country. He said the follow-up program ‘Haath Se Haath Jodo Abhiyaan’ was planned for two months but may be extended.