Opposition indulges in “khoon ki rajneeti: Rahul in Dehradun rally

Dehradun, Feb 23: In one of the most aggressive speeches so far, the

Vice President

on Sunday 'raised the bar' by highlighting

's achievements and at the same time, by attacking main opposition party

.

While addressing a grand rally at the Parade Ground in Dehradun, Rahul made an emotional pitch by including all sections of society into his electrifying speech.

He started the speech by saying that there is "no place of arrogance and anger in politics. Politics is about driving people's pain away."

While striking an emotional chord, Rahul recalled the tragic incident of Uttarakhand floods that devastated many parts of the state.

He said that during the natural calamity, there was no Hindu, Muslim, Dalit or Adivasi, at that time, only "Indians" were there-the whole Uttarakhand was united and the world witnessed its unity.

In an indirect at the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Rahul said, "some people are trying to divide the nation."

Highlighted UPA's achievements

Rahul also blew the trumpet about the Centre's assistance during Uttarakhand's floods and gave credit to the Indian army's incredible rescue efforts and sacrifices.

He also pitched for women empowerment by describing them as "the most important section"and also claimed credit for 12 subsidised LPG cylinders.

He also promised that the youth of state will be given employment opportunities, while also highlighting the education facilities like IIT, IIM and NIIT.

He said that rights-based legislations brought by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, including the right to food, have ensured security for people.

"Now we will bring the right to health," he said.

Rahul also said that UPA government was trying to bring anti-graft ordinances after the opposition "blocked" the passage of these bills in Parliament.

BJP lacks vision for the country and will do anything for power: Rahul

Gandhi also said his party will work to raise income levels of 70 crore people who were above poverty line but earned less than the middle class.

"We will raise their incomes to the level of the middle class in the next 5-10 years," he said.

Rahul also showered praises on state's tourism and horticulture.

Lashed out at BJP

In what can be said as an escalated debate, just few months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2014, Rahul invoked his late father and country's former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi by saying that he talked about 21st century and computers.

He took a dig at BJP for claiming false credit for bringing Telecom revolution in India

Rahul lashed out at BJP-ruled states by alleging, "It(BJP) practices politics of blood. Thery don't see anything but power... power at any cost. They can pit communities and castes against each other, they won't hesitate in spilling blood if they find it necessary to usurp power. "

On the contrary, Rahul said Congress believed in mitigating the pain of people even if it may fall "short" of expectations at times and that it alone has the farsighted vision that can set the country firmly on the path of development.

In a direct attack at the BJP, Rahul said "it lacked vision for the country and will do anything for power."

He also pinned blame on opposition for not letting Parliament function smoothly.

Hitting out at BJP for not cooperating with government in the passage of pending anti-corruption bills in Parliament, he said, "There are six anti-corruption bills. I spoke about them in media. Our leaders spoke to their (BJP) leaders. They kept silence... The government is ours. We are trying to push those bills in the form of ordinances."

On corruption, Rahul attacked opposition by saying it is blind for corrupt leaders. "They (BJP) don't see Yeddyurappa in Karnataka. They don't see corruption in Gujarat, in Chhattisgarh, in Madhya Pradesh... They don't talk about the disabled, women and youth. All they say is make our man Prime Minister. It will take care of everything," he said.

While concluding the speech, Rahul upped the ante and launched a scathing attack on opposition by saying that "Opposition indulges in khoon ki rajneeti (politics of blood)."

Frontal attack on Modi

In a frontal attack on Modi, he said the Gujarat Chief Minister was speaking about corruption even though he never appointed a Lokayukta in his state and did so only after a judicial order. "There is still one man in Gujarat who does not come under Lokayukta. All others are under it but not that man", he said.

He tore into Modi for his pitch for "Congress-free" India and invoked religious texts and figures like Gita, Koran and Buddha among others to imply that Congress represented the idea of a secular India which could not be removed.

"We are speaking about thoughts. Their leader says obliterate Congress... They should read Gita. They don't. It says work for others with humility... Buddha could not be eradicated. Nor could Ashoka and Akbar... Congress cannot be erased. We will fight. We will win. We will form government," he said.

OneIndia News