Panipat: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge hit out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday for announcing that the Ram temple in poll-bound Tripura would be ready by January 1, 2024. “Nor the “mahant” of the dargah. “Everyone has faith in God. But why did you make such an announcement, that too for the (Tripura Assembly) elections? And when the (2024 Lok Sabha) elections are also scheduled for May, you are saying that the Ram temple will be inaugurated.” Who are you to make such announcements? Are you a priest or the mahant of the Ram temple?” Kharge said, taking a jibe at Shah. “Let the mahants and saints speak. You are a politician. Your job is to keep the country safe, ensure law and order, ensure people get food and give value to farmers’ produce. That’s your job.
Shah announced on Thursday that the Ram temple in Ayodhya would be ready by January 1, 2024, the year of the Lok Sabha elections. This is being seen by political opponents of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a sign that the temple could again be a cornerstone of the saffron party’s campaign in the next general election.
“Rahul baba, listen from Sabroom (Tripura) that a mammoth Ram temple will be ready on January 1, 2024,” Shah said, attacking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Kharge addressed the rally in the presence of Gandhi and other Congress leaders, including Kumari Selja, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, KC Venugopal, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Shaktisinh Gohil, Kiran Choudhary, Digvijay Singh, Deepender Singh Hooda, DK Shivakumar and Udai Bhan.
BJP’s character – “Ram in the mouth… knife in the side”
know how ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/DcpdNTC2eK— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) January 6, 2023
The Congress chief targeted the Center on several issues, including price rise and unemployment, and accused the BJP of making tall promises during elections and going back on those words after coming to power.
He said that inflation and unemployment are increasing in the country but the government is not bothered about it. Kharge said that Gandhi has so far led the Bharat Jodo Yatra of over 3,000 kms. The foot march reached Panipat in Haryana from Uttar Pradesh on Thursday evening.
The Congress chief said he was seeing a “different Rahul” as he traveled on foot from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. He said that due to rising inflation, essential commodities have become out of reach of the common man.
“In 45 years, unemployment was never this high. Educated youth with degrees in engineering, medicine and business management do not have jobs, but the BJP government, (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji and Amit Shahji are not concerned about them.”
Kharge alleged, “They have no concern for youth, economic condition or price rise…they have only elections in mind.” He also accused the BJP of misusing central agencies to target the opposition. Kharge said the Congress came to power in several states under Gandhi’s leadership, but the saffron party allegedly used various tactics to topple democratically elected governments.
“Then they say they believe in democracy. All they do is topple democratically elected governments,” the Congress chief alleged.
“They take the name of God but spread such lies…. This is a government of lies. It promised two crore jobs every year. Did you get those jobs? It put 15 lakhs in everyone’s bank account. Had promised to deposit Rs. What do you get?” Kharge asked the crowd.
He said that the BJP had talked about doubling the income of farmers and increasing the minimum support price (MSP) for crops, but this did not happen. Kharge hit out at the BJP for making tall promises and later going back on those words, saying those promises only become “chunavi jumla” (election gimmick).
He used the Hindi proverb “Muh mein Ram, bagal mein churi” to take a dig at the BJP and accused the saffron party of being divisive and indulging in vote bank politics.
Kharge asserted that the Congress stands for protecting the interests of all sections of the society and said Gandhi is undertaking the padyatra to unite the country and spread the message of love.
He said that the Bharat Jodo Yatra has not been organized keeping in mind the votes, but to safeguard the interests of the people of the country including farmers, labourers, women, Dalits and other weaker sections.
Speaking on the occasion, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda talked about several development projects initiated by the previous Congress governments in the state.
He also said that Bharat Jodo Yatra has become a mass movement.
Addressing the gathering, Haryana Congress chief Uday Bhan said, “The future belongs to Congress and Rahul Gandhi and he will be the next Prime Minister of the country.”