Rahul Gandhi attacks Narendra Modi on special category status

Guntur: All India Congress Committee (AICC) vice-president Rahul Gandhi exuded confidence that they will throw out the NDA regime from power at the Centre with the support of like-minded parties in 2019 general election and with a promise to deliver SCS to Andhra Pradesh.

Addressing a rally here on Sunday, Rahul Gandhi vowed to fight it out with the NDA government till he achieved the SCS for the state. He sought to turn the special category status, viewed as a deadwood and closed chapter by the ruling NDA, into a national issue by roping in leaders from non-NDA parties such as Samaj Party’s Akhilesh Yadav, Janata Dal’s Sharad Yadav, DMK’s TKS Elangovan and S Sudhakar Reddy of the CPI to the Guntur rally.

“Special category status is not a gift to be given by someone. After all, it is the legitimate right of Andhra people,” Rahul said. He even raised slogans at the top of his voice, saying in Telugu, “Pratyeka Hoda Andhrula Hakku”. Scores of people off the dais joined the chorus with him.

The Congress organized the first-ever public show named “Pratyeka Hoda Bharosa Sabha” after its three-year long political hibernation since its worst-ever drubbing in the 2014 general election. The programme was coincided with the government-sponsored Nava Nirmana Deekha. Rahul accused Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Leader of Opposition YS Jaganmohan Reddy of “surrendering’ to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the SCS.

“What is the special package offered to Naidu and Jagan in exchange for their compromise,” he questioned. He asked them to vote against the BJP’s Presidential candidate as a befitting lesson for its U-turn on the SCS if they had any concern for their home state. He alleged that Naidu and Jagan are getting afraid of Modi for inexplicable reasons and that they are failing to get the AP’s due from the Centre.

In a hard-hitting attack, Rahul described Modi as a ‘blatant liar’ allegedly with utter disregard for Hindu Dharma which he claims as his driving force. The Congress leader recalled the PM’s promise delivered at Sri Venkateshwara Swamy temple in Tirupati soon after he assumed charge that he was very much committed to accord special category status to the truncated state for 10 years and said he had later backed out.

Although the Congress has made a conscious effort for realignment of parties from outside the BJP-TDP ruling combine with the SCS as a main pulling factor by inviting Jaganmohan Reddy of the YSRCP and Pawan Kalyan of Jana Sena, they stayed away for different reasons. Pawan in a tweet expressed his inability to take part in the Congress’ show, citing his pre-occupation with a film shooting.

However, he expressed his preparedness to extend support to any party fighting for SCS. The YSRCP, which is striving hard to get rid of the label as Pilla Congress as branded by the TDP in the runup to the 2014 general elections, was understood to have maintained a safe distance from the Congress.

Rahul’s visit triggered a wave of protests right from his landing at Gannavaram airport up to the meeting venue in Guntur. The TDP workers waved black flags at him with slogans, “Rahul go back”, courting arrests in Vijayawada and Guntur.

Meanwhile, Chandrababu trained guns at Rahul for allegedly shedding crocodile tears for AP now after his party presided over the state bifurcation in an unjust and unilateral manner.

By K Varaprasada Rao/VL Syam Sundar