JOIN USRahul Gandhi accuses PM Modi of treating Tamil Nadu people as 'second-class' citizens
Kicking off the party's campaign for the April-May Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi played the Tamil card, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of treating people of the state as “second-class” citizens through his idea of “one culture and one language.”
He also said Modi thinks he can control the people of Tamil Nadu by “blackmailing” the government that is in power in the state. “He (Modi) has obviously not read the history of Tamil Nadu. People of Tamil Nadu only expect respect. You can get much more from the people of Tamil Nadu with love and affection than you get with arrogance,” Gandhi told a roadshow in Coimbatore.
Also Read | BJP using central agencies to destabilise Opposition govts: Rajasthan CM
Gandhi also alleged that the Prime Minister thinks Tamil people, the language, and their culture is “subservient” to his idea and considers them as “second-class” citizens. “There are multiple languages and multiple cultures in this country. Every language has a space in this country,” the Congress leader said.
Gandhi, who arrived in Coimbatore by a special flight, addressed a couple of roadshows, met entrepreneurs in the industrial city of Coimbatore, visited the memorial pillar of freedom fighter Tiruppur Kumaran, and interacted with industrial labourers in the knitwear hub of Tiruppur.
In his roadshows, Gandhi accused Modi and BJP of trying to impose “one language and one culture” in the country and of serving only to “three to four” industrialists. Targeting the AIADMK government, the Congress MP said the glory of the state has now been diminished due to low industrial growth and promised to usher in a new government that will take care of their interests.
Also Read | M K Stalin incompetent to be leader, says Tamil Nadu CM
“I have not come here to tell my 'Mann Ki Baat'. I have not come here to tell what you should do. I have come here to listen to your 'Mann Ki Baat'. I want to understand your problems,” Gandhi said, in a veiled attack on Modi.
Arguing that Tamil Nadu was “central” to India's development, Gandhi said the state should yet again show the country the glorious path towards industrialisation and manufacturing. During his interaction with owners of MSMEs, Gandhi said the Congress will restructure the Goods and Services Tax (GST) if it came to power.
Gandhi, who will campaign in Tamil Nadu till January 25, accused Modi of “selling everything that belongs to the people of India.” "What does Modi do? Modi partners with three or four big businessmen in this country. They provide him media and he provides them money. Narendra Modi is one by one selling everything that belongs to the people of India and Tamil Nadu," he alleged.