2019 Lok Sabha polls: PM Modi does not respect his guru LK Advani, says Rahul Gandhi in Nagpur
The remark was a veiled reference to Advani not getting a Lok Sabha poll ticket from Gandhinagar, from where the BJP has fielded party president Amit Shah instead.
Continuing with his attack on Narendra Modi in Nagpur, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said it was unfortunate that the prime minister had scant respect for his political guru and one of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) founding members LK Advani.
Addressing a rally at Chandrapur for former Shiv Sena MLA Suresh Dhanorkar and Gadchiroli Congress nominee Dr Namdeorao Usendi, Gandhi said, “The BJP talks of Hinduism. In Hinduism, guru is supreme. It talks about the gurushishya parampara. Who is Modi’s guru? Advani. Modi ne unhe joote marke stage se utara (just kicked him out).”
The remark was a veiled reference to Advani not getting a Lok Sabha poll ticket from Gandhinagar, from where the BJP has fielded party president Amit Shah instead.
Gandhi said Modi made a false promise that he would bring back the black money stashed abroad and deposit ₹15 lakh in citizens’ accounts. “They gave money to just 15 people. Farmers pay crop insurance, which is diverted to these select individuals and industrialists,” he alleged, adding, “The economy is flat, people are not getting jobs, the farmers aren’t getting loans and educated people have no opportunities.”
Stating that these problems could be easily addressed, Gandhi said, “The government needs ₹35,000 crore a year to run MGNREGA. This means crores of people can be given employment using this money. But this amount was clandestinely siphoned off by the likes of Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and others select few. If the Congress comes to power, this money will come to your accounts.”
Ridiculing Modi’s self-proclaimed ‘chowkidar’ tag, he said, “He is only standing guard outside the house of the rich. Have you have ever seen a watchman guarding a poor man’s house?”