RSS, BJP people do not emulate Lord Ram's way of life: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that "BJP and RSS people" do not lead their lives the way Lord Ram led his. Speaking at a rally here during his Bharat Jodo Yatra, he also said, citing an interaction with a priest on the way, that "Hey Ram", the phrase used by Mahatma Gandhi, was a "way of life".

Gandhi's cross-country foot-march which is currently passing through Madhya Pradesh halted in Agar Malwa district on Friday evening. "A priest who came to meet me during the Yatra in Madhya Pradesh told me the meaning of `Hey Ram', the words often used by Gandhiji. "Hey Ram is a way of life. It taught the entire world the meaning of love, brotherhood, respect and tapasya (penance)," he said.

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Similarly, `Jai Siya Ram' means Sita and Ram are one and Lord Ram fought for Sita's honour, the Congress leader said. "Jai Shri Ram means hailing Lord Ram, but BJP and RSS people are not leading their lives like him (Lord Ram) and not fighting for the honour of women," Rahul Gandhi alleged. Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday had hit out at the Congress, saying those who never believed in the existence of Lord Ram had now "brought in Ravan" just to abuse him.

Modi was referring to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's remark where he said the prime minister asks people to vote "looking at his face" in all elections. "Are you 100-headed like Ravan," Kharge had asked. Meanwhile, targeting the BJP governments at the centre as well as in Madhya Pradesh, Rahul Gandhi claimed that farmers are not getting fertilizer and are being harassed for not repaying loans of Rs 50,000 to Rs one lakh, while "big loans of industrialists are waived by the banks by rolling out red carpets."

Parents take educational loan to make their son engineer, but after graduating, young engineers are forced to work as labourers for want of jobs, the Congress leader said. Small shops and establishments were the biggest source of employment but they were hit hard by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and demonetisation, Gandhi said. Another major source of employment was Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) but they too are being closed and even hospitals and schools are being privatised, thus ending all job opportunities, the Congress leader said.

Referring to price rise, he said that during United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, the price of petrol was Rs 60 per litre but now it is Rs 107 per litre. An LPG cylinder which cost Rs 400 now costs more than Rs 1,000, Gandhi said. Money is being taken out of the pockets of the common people and given to industrialists, he said. As a result, there are now two sections in the country, one of billionaire industrialists and the other section which includes farmers, labourers and small shop owners, the Congress leader said. People do not want this situation but they want justice, and to get justice for them is the main aim of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi added.