Rahul defends Chandy, says zero tolerance for graft

Rahul Gandhi tried to pitch himself as redeemer and poster-boy for the scam-hit, feud-ridden Congress in Kerala on Tuesday at a statewide party rally here.

He backed the Oommen Chandy government’s development agenda but also sent out a message that there is “no compromise” on corruption.

“The Congress will not compromise on corruption. I want to make it very clear that even if there is a bit of evidence (to prove corruption in the government), we will take immediate and strict action,” the Congress vice-president party workers at the Shankhumukham beach here, as he formally wound up Janaraksha Yatra, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president V M Sudheeran’s statewide rally.

Gandhi took a familiar line of attack on the BJP-led government at the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting issues of intolerance against the backdrop of Dalit student Rohith Vemula’s suicide and price rise.

But the Congress vice-president, like veteran A K Antony stated during the event, was also setting tone for the Assembly election in Kerala, tentatively scheduled in April-May.

He called Chandy, facing bribery allegations in connection with the solar scam, a “people’s leader” and pitted achievements of the Congress-led state government against Modi’s mantra of development. “Long before Modiji thought of startups, Chandy did it here. Kerala is also the first state to have a startup policy,” Gandhi said. The Congress leader dismissed the Left’s ideology as “obsolete”.
DH News Service