From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Chikkamagaluru
Chikkamagaluru, Mar 21: In what should come as sweet music to the years of Congressmen, especially Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, KPCC Chief Dr G Parameshwara and other ruling party leaders in the State, AICC President Rahul Gandhi predicted a resounding victory to the Congress party in the coming assembly polls.
"I want to tell to the Congress workers and leaders, who have stood behind us that the Congress will win the forthcoming Karnataka election with a bang," he said and added: "I am saying this because of the experience I had traversing the parts of Karnataka."
On his third visit to Karnataka in the last one month and the first after formally taking over as the Congress President from his mother Sonia Gandhi, the 47-year leader who addressed a series of small and big meetings after returning from his tour of the twin coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, also lambasted the Modi government for its misrule and failure to keep its promises to the people.
Gandhi, who visited the Sringeri temple and took the Shankaracharya’s blessings, thanked the people of Chikkamagaluru for supporting his grandmother Indira Gandhi in the post-Emergency period when she won the by-election and subsequently rode back to power at the centre.
"You people have stood by my grandmother during her toughest days and helped her achieve a historic win from here. In her hour of crisis, you had helped Indiraji and I cannot forget this. If ever you require my help, I will make myself available for you, whereever I am," he said.
Rahul Gandhi said the Prime Minister, who promised so many things to the people in the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and forgot all his promises disappointing lakhs of people across the country who had voted overwhelmingly for the BJP, will certainly lose next year’s general elections.
"Four years of Modi's rule has gone by and he had made big speeches, and there is only a year left for his rule, and I would like to tell to the party workers, that the same kind of (mis)rule is going to continue, and Modi is going to lose the next election," he said addressing Jana Ashirwada Yatre here.
Gandhi predicted that the people of the country would vote Modi out because they would like to see the Prime Minister speak the truth and language of love and brotherhood instead of speeches filled with hate and also for his failure to rein in his followers for harassing people, especially Dalits, Minorities and other weaker sections.
Modi will lose because when India looks at the Prime Minister, they want to hear truth. They don't want to hear hatred-laden speeches. They want to hear language of love and brotherhood, he said.
The Congress President, who was unsparing in his criticism of Modi, the ruling BJP at the Centre and the RSS, said the people of India know very well that without truth, this country cannot move forward, and this forms the foundation of cosmic principles.
Gandhi said a Prime Minister becomes successful when his heart is filled with love and empathy, without which the country cannot be run.
He said A B Vajpayee, the first BJP Prime Minister, as an opposition leader, had respect for the people of India and never abused previous prime ministers for not doing any work for the development of India.
"A Prime Minister becomes successful when his heart is filled with love and empathy, without which India cannot be run. Vajpayee was an opposition leader, but he respected the people of India. I heard his speeches many a times, and in those speeches he never made any comments that before him there was no work related to development," he said.
Hitting out at Jay Shah, BJP President Amit Shah's son, Gandhi said Modi does not see corruption in B S Yeddyurappa or Shah's wealth.
He neither sees corruption in Nirav Modi running away after looting crores of rupees nor tells the price of Rafale fighter aircaft and why he gave the deal to his industrialist friend, Ambani, disregarding Bengaluru-based public sector company Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).
Gandhi said China is building helipads and airports at India's borders in Doklam but Modi is silent and no important issues of this nation are addressed by him anywhere including his Mann Ki Baath.
He said the even young minds have clear understanding of spirituality and religion, but Modi fails to understand what 'Satyameva Jayate' means and engages in peddling lies.