Tickets for Gujarat polls soon, no ‘Parachute system’ for last minute entrants: Rahul Gandhi

Ahmedabad: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today said that the party would soon announce its candidates for the Gujarat assembly election but would not apply ‘Parachute System’ in distribution of tickets by giving it to any outsider who join the party in last moment.

He also said that the party on formation of its government in Gujarat would accommodate party workers and leaders in government.

Rahul claimed that Congress was unstoppable in Gujarat as no one can stop it from winning the assembly polls this time around and the ruling BJP and PM Narendra Modi were afraid of the polls in the state.

Addressing ‘Samvad’ event of the main opposition party on Sabarmati Riverfront close to Paldi here, Rahul in reply to a query of a party worker and state committee member said that the party would not give ticket by Parachute system to anyone in any constituency. The party in-charge and other national secretaries were doing due deliberation and meeting workers in every constituency. The tickets would be announced soon. Tickets would be given to only those who were grass-root Congress people and fight the ideology of RSS and BJP. Anyone joining party in the last moment won’t be given ticket. We want more and more dedicated people and ground level leaders who can fight BJP at booth level. Though only one person would get ticket, the party would accommodate others in the government.

In reply to yet another query Rahul alleged that media was not showing the truth under pressure from its owners and Industrialist friends of PM Modi for whom his government was working. He however claimed that the voice of farmers, small businesses, youths did not need such media anymore. ‘People are hearing their voice and moreover Social Media was also there. The whole media was not with Modi though those trying to show the truth were being crushed as done in dictatorship,’ he alleged.

To another query Rahul said that the party would not tolerate any one, howsoever big his stature be, if he sabotaged a party candidate from within the party. Congress did not need such leaders.

He also hit out at PM Modi on the issue of demonetization and alleged that lakhs of small and medium businesses have suffered badly owing to this bad decision which he took single handed. ‘99% of the money is back and GDP is down by 2%. Terrorism in Kashmir has not diminished. What is the gain,’ he said adding that on the GST count also his party had advised maximum 18% tax with less number of slabs and providing time to small businesses before its implementation but the government in a mid night drama implemented it suddenly in a way that has troubled many.

Rahul said that Guajrat was a state of strongest entrepreneurial spirit which can show the way to the rest of the country if its main strength of Small and Medium businesses which have suffered a lot under the BJP regime, were re-strengthened. Congress would focus on them if voted to power rather than focusing only on a handful of big Industrialists like Modi government.

He also said that to make ‘Make in India’ successful and compete with China- where there was no democracy and thousand of people were made to work in big factories for free, there was no other alternative to strengthening our small and medium enterprises. He also questioned the rebate of Rs 60000 crores given to Nano plant in Sanand when the farmers in the state were in distress owing to Rs 36000 crores of debt. ‘Now do we see any Nano around here. If the government would have given 60000 crores to 2 to 3 thousand small and medium businesses, so many employment opportunities could have been created. Even the hub of textile industry from Gujarat was now shifting. Bangladesh was taking a lead in it now. But Modi ji was only concerned about a few big Industrialists of his choice. Congress was not against the big Industrialists as such but they should get only what was due to them and not grab everything.

To another query Rahul claimed that Congress was unstoppable in Gujarat this time and BJP and PM Modi were afraid of assembly elections.

‘If we see BJP in Gujarat and see PM Narendra Modi. it is clear that they are fearful and afraid of the election. Because the truth comes out and it can’t be suppressed,’ he said.

‘Neither the farmers nor the small businesses or the youth have been benefited in BJP rule. Only 5 to 10 industrialists close to PM Modi have been benefited. It will be clear in the elections. No one can stop Congress from forming government in Gujarat this time around. The emptiness of Gujarat model was now open. There were no dearth of issues for the party in the election,’ he said exhorting the party cadres to take on BJP strongly at the booth level.

Rahul claimed that Congress would take care of the issues including land rights of Dalits, Scheduled tribes and other oppressed ones in Gujarat after the formation of its government. He also termed unemployment as a main issue and also lashed out at the failed education and health system in Gujarat. He also promised large scale government jobs to the youths if voted to power.

DeshGujarat