Rahul Gandhi roots for poor people only when elections approach: Amit Shah

Sonipat: Whenever elections approach, Rahul Gandhi starts rooting for poor people, otherwise, he stays aloof, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah said on Sunday.

Addressing an election rally here, he sharpened his attack on the Congress president Rahul Gandhi and said: "Congress never cared about poor people. They only raised the slogan of 'Garibi Hatao' (eradicate poverty) but did nothing about it. Whenever election season approached, he starts rooting for the poor people, otherwise, he stays aloof."

Continuing his tirade against the Congress party, he said: "Congress party had promised to do away with sedition law if their party is voted to power. If it is scrapped, you will not be able to put anyone who spies on India behind the bars."

The Congress in its election manifesto released on April 2 had promised to remove the sedition law to give a "fillip to freedom of expression".

He also recalled the incidents, which took place in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in February 2016, and said if the sedition law was removed, then those raising anti-India slogans could not be jailed.

In tune with the party's promise in the election manifesto, he said if our party is voted to power, BJP will abrogate Article 370. "Omar Abdullah had pitched for the revival of the posts of Prime Minister and President for Jammu and Kashmir. Even if our party is voted out of power in the Lok Sabha elections, our party workers and those who support BJP will never let Kashmir go away from India."

He also took a jibe at the erstwhile chief ministers of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Om Prakash Chautala for destroying the condition of state with "corruption" and "hooliganism". "We now have BJP's Manohar Lal Khattar as the Chief Minister and he has fully eradicated hooliganism and corruption from the system," he said.

Haryana will see polling for 10 Lok Sabha seats on May 12 in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.