Ahmedabad: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today again attacked PM Narendra Modi and BJP government in Gujarat and the center on the first day of the second leg of his Navsarjan Gujarat Yatra which started from Hathijan circle here.

Rahul who arrived on his second trip in less than a fortnight in the poll bound state also visited Sardar Patel’s birth place in Nadiad and his native place in Karmsad during his trip. He also performed Puja at the Santram Mandir.

The congress leader during various meetings, interactions and brief media encounters continued his direct attack on PM Modi. He also raised the issue of BJP president Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah’s business which was published in a news portal yesterday.

Rahul said that PM Modi who had promised 2 crore jobs each year for youths before coming to power has miserably failed. ‘The biggest issue before the country today was unemployment and Modi ji should now admitted that he has failed to fulfill his promise. Today his government is giving only 450 jobs every day while 30 thousand move out in search of it. Modi ji is focused towards only a few big industrialist who can’t solve the problem of unemployment. It can be solved only by promoting the farmers and small business which have been destroyed by demonetization and wrong implementation of GST,’ he said.

At one place Rahul while interacting with media persons said,’ Modi ji who said that he was not a PM but a Chowkidar of the nation, was now mum about the allegations on the company of Shah’s son which has made a jump in business by 16000 fold in a matter of few months. You should go and ask this to Modi ji and Amit Shah. Are you afraid of doing that.’

Earlier also during the meetings he hit out at the PM and Shah by raising this issue. During the meetings he repeatedly talked about the failure of the government on issues like demonetization, implementation of GST and employment creation. He also promised that Congress on coming to power in Gujarat would work for the farmers, commoners, small traders and businesses and to revive the old Gujarat model in place of Modi’s model of Gujarat. He also poked fun at the development slogan of BJP by repeatedly asking people about what has happened to development in Gujarat and they responded that it has gone mad.

He also interacted with business and trader community in Vadodara and women associated with milk production business of Amul in Dedarada. He suggested them to give their suggestion to be included in the manifesto of Congress for the coming Gujarat polls. Rahul also alleged that even the banks were now only concerned about the big businessmen and were keeping their doors shut for farmers and small businesses.

During his visit to Sardar Patel’s birth place in Nadiad (he was born at his maternal grand fathers place) he said that Sardar Patel did not belong to any one party and was of the whole nation.

Earlier soon after arrival at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport here this morning, Rahul hold an informal meeting with senior party leaders including Rajya sabha MP and political secretary of party president Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel, state president Bharatsinh Solanki, former president Arjun Modhwadia, Siddharth Patel and Gujarat in-charge of the party Ashok Gehlot.

His trip is started on a day when the team of Election Commission also arrived in Gujarat to review the preparedness of assembly polls to be held this year and the dates of which are yet to be announced.

During his three day visit starting today he would participate in various meetings, interactions and rallies and would cover Kheda, Anand, Vadodara, Chhota Udepur, Panchmahal and Dahod districts of central Gujarat till October 11.

He had started the first leg of the Yatra from Dwarka on September 25 which had concluded in Jetpur of Rajkot after covering five district of Saurashtra region on September 27.

Rahul today was today welcomed at the Hathijan circle here to mark the beginning of the Yatra today. Later he addressed a meeting near Khatraj crossing in Kheda. The workers of Amul Dairy welcomed him in Jilhipura. He visited Santram temple and spent around 10 minutes with its main priest and then organized a corner meeting in Nadiad.

Rahul also went to Petlad and later held interaction with representatives of milk producers committees in Dedarada village of Anand district. Solanki played an interpreter for him. A meeting on price rise issue was held at Rathod crossing in Anand. He then held an interaction with traders and businessmen in Sayaji hall in Vadodara in the evening where he would also stay during the night in the local circuit house.

On the second day ie October 10, Rahul would visit the Sankalp bhoomi of Babasaheb Ambedkar in Vadodara in the morning and also later hold an interaction with students at Sayaji hall. Crossing via Bhayali, Padra, Karjan (meeting), he would reach Dabhoi to interact with women health workers and visit the local APMC. After participating in some other events he would enter neighbouring Chhota Udepur district via Gamadi and hold a public meeting in Bodeli. The second night halt would be at the circuit house in Chhota Udepur.

On the third and final day of his trip he would interact with the students of tribal community at Darbar hall in Chhota Udepur and hold a meeting at Devgadh Bariya on the topic of unemployment. In the afternoon he would also hold a meeting in Limkheda in Dahod district on tribal rights issues. He would also visit local Kabir temple in Silya in Dahod. He would then enter Panchmahal district and hold a meeting with skilled labourers in Tawa village. His visit would end with a public meeting in Phagwel. He would come back to Ahmedabad in the evening to board a flight for Delhi.

DeshGujarat