Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday, February 2 attacked the Union government and said that the BJP could never rule over Tamil Nadu. Speaking first from the Opposition side in the Lok Sabha during the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, he said, “There are two visions of this country. One vision is that it is a union of states, meaning it is a negotiation, meaning it is a conversation, meaning I go to my brother in Tamil Nadu and I say, ‘what do you want?’ and he says, ‘this is what I want’. He then asks me ‘what do you want?’ and I say ‘this is what I want’. It is a partnership, it is not a kingdom. You will never, ever in your entire life, rule over the people of Tamil Nadu. It can’t be done.”
The Congress leader also said that two Indias, one for the rich and one for the poor, have been created and the gap between them was widening. He said that the address to a joint sitting of Parliament didn't touch the central challenges facing the country and was a "list of bureaucratic ideas" instead of a strategic vision.
The presidential address made no mention of unemployment, the Congress leader said. “There are two Indias — one for the rich, one for the poor — and the gap between the two was widening,” Gandhi alleged and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to start working towards bringing the two Indias, created by this government, together.
He claimed that 40% of India's wealth has gone to a chosen few. “Today, the earnings of 84% of Indians have dwindled, pushing them towards poverty,” Gandhi said. 'Make in India' cannot happen as the unorganised sector has been completely destroyed, he alleged. The Congress leader also raised the border row with China and the Pegasus case among other issues.
Watch the full video of Rahul Gandhi’s speech here.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had criticised the Union Budget presented on Tuesday. He said that it was a zero sum budget by the Union Government. "Nothing for the salaried class, middle class, the poor and deprived, youth, farmers and MSMEs," he tweeted.
With PTI and IANS inputs