At the Congress’s debut political rally ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi Monday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, saying both used similar propaganda tactics of making false promises without meaning to fulfill them. His statements come amid growing speculation about fissures within the Opposition’s INDIA bloc, of which both the AAP and Congress are members. Responding to Rahul’s speech on social media platform ‘X’, Kejriwal said, “Today Rahul Gandhi ji came to Delhi. He abused me a lot. But I will not comment on his statements. His fight is to save Congress, my fight is to save the country.” Addressing a packed crowd at the “Jai Bhim-Jai Samvidhan” public meeting in Northeast Delhi’s Seelampur, Rahul, who shared the stage with the candidates declared so far by the party for the Delhi polls, questioned the AAP’s and BJP’s commitment to the Constitution and the rights of marginalised communities. “When Kejriwal came to power, he said he’d clean Delhi, turn it into Paris, and remove corruption. Now, you tell me — has corruption decreased?. What did Modi and Kejriwal say? That they will ensure inflation reduces. Has inflation reduced? Has Modi said anything about these rich people controlling the country? Has Kejriwal ever spoken against them?” he asked. To this, the crowd responded with a “No.” Later in a post on X, Rahul wrote: “Just like Modi ji makes false promises and propaganda one after the other, Kejriwal ji also has the same strategy — there is no difference!” At the rally, he said there is an ongoing ideological battle in the country and his party is the sole defender of India’s constitutional values. “The Constitution clearly states Hindustan belongs to every Hindustani, no matter what caste or religion they belong to. If a person is a Hindustani, they deserve respect and protection in this country,” he said. “From Kanyakumari to Kashmir, we walked 4,000 km to save this Constitution. Every day, BJP and RSS attack Ambedkar’s Constitution. For the Congress, this country and its Constitution are of utmost worth. Till the day I am alive, the moment any Hindustani is attacked — be it a Muslim, a Hindu, or a Dalit — Rahul Gandhi will be found protecting that person." Rahul then turned his focus to Modi and Kejriwal while repeatedly drawing parallels between the two political leaders. Taking a jibe at their silence on a caste census, he said, “I’ve asked this in Parliament: does Modi ji support a caste census? Does Kejriwal ji? Neither of them has commented because they don’t want minorities and backward classes to get their due. If Hindustan gets a Congress government, the first thing we will do is increase reservation to over 50%, be it in Delhi or anywhere else, this will be our first step.” Highlighting disparities in representation for the backward classes, he added, “The country’s budget is streamlined by 90 IAS officers, out of which only three are from backward classes. Population aapki 50%, bhagidari aapki 3%. Take out the list of India’s 500 biggest businessmen and you won’t find a single Dalit or Adivasi. This is the reality of India.” Hitting out at the AAP chief, he said whether it was inflation or corruption, Kejriwal had failed on all fronts. Alleging India was controlled by just a few billionaires like Adani and Ambani, he asked the people if they ever heard Kejriwal speaking out against them. Drawing comparisons to Sheila Dikshit’s tenure as Delhi CM, Rahul said, “What Sheila Dikshit had done for Delhi, not a single other CM has done. Today, look at the condition of roads, the lack of sanitation, and the increase in pollution. Support our babbar shers (Congress candidates) and help us win the election." Concluding his speech, he reiterated Congress’s commitment to fighting divisive politics: “Whenever there is violence against you, we will be there. We’ve walked 4,000 km from Kashmir to Kanyakumari to open mohabbat ki dukaan (shops of love) in this nafrat ki bazaar (market of hate), and we did not say we’d only do this if we come to power, we’ll do this no matter what.” Before the LoP’s speech, AAP turncoat and sitting MLA Abdul Rehman, who recently shifted loyalties to the Congress, referenced Seelampur’s state during the 2020 riots. He said, “First, you need to decide who is loyal and who is not. When Jamuna-paar was burning, who was here? When you all were suffering, who stood by you? Now it’s up to you to decide who is faithful to you and who is not.”
