If it was Kalawati he mentioned in his speech during the trust vote debate in the Lok Sabha on July 21, it was Bansilal he referred to in his campaign address in Morena, 50 km from Gwalior on Tuesday.
Speaking before a large gathering, Rahul Gandhi, once again used the example of a single individual to highlight a larger issue — that the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh had reneged on its pre election promises.
“Bansilal was promised a house was promised a house under a rehabilitation scheme after the one he lived in was bulldozed on the pretext of developing a high-rise near Indore Airport,” said Gandhi. “He never got one. The mill he was working in
has closed too, and Bansilal today lives in utter poverty without even a roof above his head.”
Gandhi was accompanied by Union Minister of State for IT and Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia, in whose Lok Sabha constituency Morena falls.
Without naming the BJP, Gandhi said: “If these people spent more time with the poor and marginalised, they might understand their situation better.”
He was referring to Opposition charges of hypocrisy for spending time with Dalits during his visits to different parts of the country. “If they followed my example it would help them to understand the pain and suffering of the poor,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}He was referring to Opposition charges of hypocrisy for spending time with Dalits during his visits to different parts of the country. “If they followed my example it would help them to understand the pain and suffering of the poor,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Gandhi attacked the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government for its poor record in providing power, roads, water, health and education to the people over the past five years. In contrast, he stressed the achievements of UPA-initiated central schemes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyut Yojna. He said the Centre had, at Scindia’s urging, sanctioned Rs 60 crore under the electrification programme for Morena alone.
He also recalled the role of the late Madhavrao Scindia in fostering a special bond of love between his family and the people of Gwalior and its surroundings.
Scindia urged the crowd to remove “the corrupt and inefficient” BJP government and vote the Congress back to power.