Congress President Rahul Gandhi has lied again. This time, however, it is not about his favourite topic, Rafale, but about another one of Congress legacies: hate mongering. While addressing a public gathering in Amethi yesterday, Rahul Gandhi said that Prime Minister Modi indulges in spreading hatred. He insinuated that PM Modi has been directly responsible for making different sections of people fight each other.
Rahul Gandhi in Raebareli: Jahan bhi jaate hain Modi ji nafrat failate hai. Hindu-Musalman ko ladaenge, Punjab mein Hindu-Sikh ki ladai kara denge. Gujarat mein kahenge UP-Bihar ke logon ko bhagao. Ye desh nafrat se nahi chal sakta hai. Yeh desh jod ke hi aage badh sakta hai. pic.twitter.com/rAoDsIrDiA
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 24, 2019
Since Congress President seems to be suffering from memory loss, here is a friendly reminder on who actually is spreading hate. In September 2018, Gujarat Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor was caught on camera inciting mob to take to violence against non-Gujaratis, especially the ones from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
‘Outsiders do crime here and go back to their places…they beat up commoners in villages….Trucks/ containers will be stopped….This Rajeshbhai Yadav(works in company in Gujarat)…He comes from there to grab(job)’: Cong MLA Alpesh Thakor inciting locals last month at Bechraji pic.twitter.com/Ico64AnqnR
— Japan K Pathak (@JapanPathak) October 9, 2018
In a video which is believed to be from Becharaji, Gujarat, from September 2018, Alpesh could be heard saying, “all these outsiders who come here, they commit crimes here which has led to the increase in ‘goondagardi’. Villagers are beaten up and run off to their own hometown in other states after committing the crime. Is our Gujarat for such people?” Inciting people present there to take to violence, he said, “The trucks of these companies will be stopped and their doors will be broken.”
He then asks people how many are in a mood to fight? “Containers will be stopped, trucks will be stopped, and if needed, we will burn tyres,” Thakor says.
That is not all. In another video, Thakor can be heard saying “If these companies (which invest in Gujarat) do not give 85% of the jobs to Gujaratis, then tyres will burn, trucks will be stopped and trucks will be broken. I believe we should fight aggressively and now that same Alpesh Thakore is getting into the field to play his cards. We will then see how these ‘lions’ are dragged on to the roads.”
In fact, prior to that, it was Alpesh Thakor led Thakor Sena members who had allegedly led a mob and attacked two a factory near Vadnagar town of Mehsana.
It was not just Aplesh Thakor, but another Congress MLA Geniben Thakor was also caught on camera instigating violence in Gujarat. “The Indian laws should be followed but at the time of the incident … 500, 100, 50 or 150 people are there… they should have used petrol and set them (rapists) on fire, nothing would have happened. They (rapists) should not have been handed over to police and should have been finished instead,” Geniben is heard saying in the video. Prior to that, she was caught making other violent statements against BJP leaders.
More recently, days after swearing in as the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Congress leader Kamal Nath was found spewing hatred against migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath: Our schemes of providing incentives of investment will only be imposed after 70% people from Madhya Pradesh get employment. People from other states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh come here & local people don’t get jobs. I have signed file for this pic.twitter.com/qjORqyBuFc
— ANI (@ANI) December 17, 2018
“People from other states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh come here & local people don’t get jobs,” Nath said while addressing the media after taking the oath. Not too surprising coming from someone who is accused of leading a mob and setting Gurudwara Rakabganj on fire during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots which took place following former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination. That man is now chief minister of a state and openly shows his dislike for the people of UP and Bihar.
It is not the first time that Rahul Gandhi has tried to make insinuations against Prime Minister Modi without proof while doing exactly the same thing himself. The Rafale “scam” allegation is the perfect example. While in the Congress tenure, corruption in defence deals and the existence of middlemen close to Robert Vadra was rampant, no such element exists in the Rafale case. Also, with the AgustaWestland scam, it is evident that the corruption in the Congress party and possibly in the Gandhi family itself is deep-rooted. Rahul Gandhi is also currently out on bail.
Amidst all this, it is a bit rich for Rahul Gandhi to try to pin the blame of hate mongering on Prime Minister Modi while it is his own party leaders, the MLAs and chief ministers, who are busy playing divisive politics.