Rahul lambasts 'politics of hate' on TN campaign trail

All India Congress Committee (AICC) vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday continued his tirade against the BJP on the campaign trail in Tamil Nadu, asserting that India does not require politics that makes one person fight against another.

“We don’t need a government that promotes hate and anger. We don’t need a government that makes Hindus fight Muslims,” he said at a election rally here. Taking a dig at BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Rahul also said that Congress does not practise the “politics of hate”.

He said that the “Opposition talks about corruption, but nowhere in its manifesto does it mention how it will fight corruption”.

Rahul said that while Modi always speaks about the Gujarat model of development, he should come and see the Tamil Nadu model, which is better developed than Gujarat.

Pointing out that state parties will not come to power at the Centre post-elections, he said Congress cadres should work to bring about a pro-poor and secular government.

Claiming credit for  the UPA government’s passage of the Lokpal Bill, he termed it as a “tremendous weapon against corruption,” even as he charged the opposition with trying to stop it.

“The Opposition did not allow Parliament to run. Though the Congress government has passed the Lokpal Bill, some more anti-corruption bills were waiting to be tabled,” he said. He pointed out that it was the UPA government that brought in the Right to Information Act and because of that corruption has come to light.

Claiming that it is only the Congress that worked for the empowerment of the people, the AICC leader said the country progressed economically and socially under the UPA government.

The UPA government gave farmers seven times more credit than they got under the NDA government, he claimed, adding the UPA government created more employment opportunities during its tenure.

He also listed out the achievements of the UPA government, and said in the last ten years, 15 crore people were lifted out of poverty. “Soon, nearly 70 crore people would make the middle class level,” he promised.

Rahul said that if UPA was voted back to power, the government would form a separate Ministry to ensure the safety and security of fishermen. The UPA government at the Centre has been making sincere efforts to address various issues of the fisherfolk in Tamil Nadu, he added.