Congress kicks off Maharashtra poll campaign as Rahul Gandhi attacks PM Modi on Shivaji statue collapse

Mumbai: Kickstarting the Congress campaign in the run up to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly polls, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi sought apology of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from “each and every person” not only for the collapse of statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj but also for demonetisation, Farm Bills and introduction of GST.

Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, set the tone of the campaign in the state, where the grand old party has gained significantly during the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls. 

The duo of Gandhi-Kharge, at a public rally at Kadegaon in Sangli, asserted that the idea of the Congress was similar to that of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.

"There is no difference between the idea of Congress and that of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar," said Gandhi. 

“I bow to this land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj. Many thinkers and social reformers like Lokmanya Tilak, Mahatma Phule and Savitribai Phule and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar left an indelible mark on the ideology of this country,” added Kharge.

Earlier, Gandhi and Kharge unveiled the statue of late Congress loyalist Dr Patangrao Kadam. 

“Our ‘babbar sher’ party workers will ensure that the Congress wins Maharashtra,” he said.

On the apology tendered by Modi before Shivaji Maharaj, Gandhi said that Maharashtra and the country want to know why the Prime Minister apologized. 

“Firstly, whether for giving contracts to RSS people without merit, secondly for the corruption in the construction of the statue and thirdly bays of the to insult a revered great man like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,” he said, adding: “The Prime Minister should apologize to every resident of the of Maharashtra for what happened…he should also apologise for demonetisation, introduction of GST and the three Farm Bills.”

Gandhi said that Modi should answer why all contracts are given only to "Adani and Ambani”, whom  he referred to as“A1 and A2”. 

On the Manipur issue, Gandhi said that the north-eastern state was facing a “civil-war like situation”, however, the Prime Minister has not visited it. “It is the BJP which has set it on fire,” he alleged. 

Gandhi said that Maharashtra has the foundation of the Congress and the party is in the DNA of the people of the state. 

"Today's politics is a fight between two ideologies. We want social progress and to take everyone along, while the BJP wants development of a selected few," Gandhi said, adding that the BJP wanted the caste structure to remain the same, finish the Constitution, take over the Election Commission, educational institutions, legal system and bureaucracy.”

Gandhi reiterated that he would introduce a caste census. “The Congress is committed to caste census…we will get it done…the Congress and its (I.N.D.I.A.) allies would do it,” he said, adding that the BJP is opposed to it. “The BJP says no to caste census. Now the RSS has said that caste census is necessary,” he said. 

'Real' Sena and NCP with us: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that had the I.N.D.I.A bloc got 20 more seats in the Lok Sabha polls, Narendra Modi would have found it difficult to get a third term in office.

"We toured the entire country and appealed to people to save the Constitution. We came very close…if we had got 20 seats, you would not have seen the Modi sarkar. I am saying this because saving the Constitution is in your hands," Kharge said.

"Modi and the RSS want to change the Constitution made by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar."

Claiming that the Maha Vikas Aghadi has emerged stronger after the Lok Sabha polls, Kharge said, "The 'asli' (real) Shiv Sena is with us…the 'asli' NCP is with us. The 'nakli' (fake) people are on the other side."