Rahul trains guns on Modi govt yet again

Says Dalits and other weaker sections are being persecuted

AICC vice- president Rahul Gandhi on Friday once again targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought to portray the Congress as the messiah of Dalits.

Rahul charged that the Dalits and other weaker sections were being ''persecuted'' in the BJP-ruled states like Gujarat, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.

In a first-of-its-kind interaction with thousands of party workers from different parts of Uttar Pradesh at the Ramabai Ambedkar ground here, Rahul said that the Congress was not merely a party, but was a part of the country. He claimed the party was ''alive'' in ''every corner'' of the nation.

Rahul answered questions ranging from the reasons behind the Congress' dismal performance at the hustings in UP to making 78-year old Sheila Dikshit the party's chief ministerial candidate in the state.

On projecting Sheila, the Congress vice-president said that with age comes experience. Like she had developed Delhi, she will now develop UP too, he said, adding, ''Sheilaji has worked in Delhi....now we are only witnessing drama in Delhi.”

''Dalits are being persecuted...Congress workers must fight for not only the Dalits,  but also for the other weaker sections...weaker sections are being suppressed today,” he said in reply to a question.

Addressing the crowd, the Congress leader said that the police stations have turned into ''political offices'' and this was the reason for the poor law and order situation in the state. ''If we come to power, we will make sure that only police officers sit inside the stations,” Rahul said. He assured the crowd that the party would reward genuine workers while those indulging in indiscipline would be shown the door.

He said the Congress would launch a campaign to ''bring together'' different communities and castes in the country. “The BJP believes in breaking...we believe in uniting,” he said.

Rahul also took a jibe at the Modi government over the ambitious bullet train project, saying it would cost crores and would be out of the reach of the common man due to the high fares.