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Will do every bit to protect, promote TN’s rights: Rahul
Invoking the history, culture and language of Tamils to woo voters, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that the Congress-DMK combine will never let Tamil Nadu be ruled from Nagpur, in a veiled reference to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
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Addressing election rallies in Krishnagiri and Salem districts, Rahul Gandhi said the BJP thinks Tamil Nadu can be run from Nagpur.
“Narendra Modi, who controls the AIADMK government, thinks he can control Tamil Nadu too. They believe the Prime Minister’s office should decide the destiny of Tamil Nadu. But the Congress and DMK believe that the state should be run by Tamil people,” he said.
On the issue of decentralisation of power, Rahul Gandhi said that India should be run from its villages, cities and states. “The country shouldn’t be run from the PMO’s office and from Nagpur. So the Congress and DMK are working to defend the history and spirit of Tamil people. The parties in our alliance too have a similar ideology,” he said.
Pitching DMK president MK Stalin to be the next Chief Minister, the Congress president said that the voice of Tamil people has not been heard loudly so far. “Respecting Tamil language and history of Tamil people is fundamental for building a strong Tamil Nadu. India’s multi-culturalism should be protected, but Modi thinks he can impose one idea on the country,” he said.
Note ban killed Tirupur & Kanchi
Taking a dig at the BJP for implementing demonetisation, Rahul Gandhi said scraping of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes has destroyed textile hubs in Tirupur, hit Kancheepuram, the silk capital of the country and affected manufacturing sector, which is the back bone of Tamil Nadu.
Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of favouring Anil Ambani, Nirav Modi and Adani, who owe thousands of crores to Indian banks, Rahul Gandhi said that the Congress has decided to perform a surgical strike on poverty in Tamil Nadu.
“The DMK and Congress together have decided to wipe out poverty from Tamil Nadu. If Modi could give 1000s of crores to 15 of his friends; Anil Ambani, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, then Congress and DMK can do the same to poor people through NYAY scheme. The moment Congress comes to power, we will identify 20 per cent poorest families in the country and they will be given Rs 72,000 every year. The amount will be credited directly in the account of women,” he said.
Hitting out at the AIADMK by saying it insulted the farmers during Cyclone Gaja, which destroyed the food base of Tamil Nadu in the Delta region, Gandhi said that Rs 6,000 crore of MGNREGA money was due to them and Modi took away the bonus that our farmers used to be given. He promised to enact law for not sending any farmer to jail for failing to pay debts to banks.
Gandhi also said that Congress will give 33 per cent reservation to women in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and Vidhan Sabha and in central government jobs. Harping on the issue of unemployment, the Congress president said, “Modi gave an empty slogan Make in India. But, everywhere we see only Make in China. Now a young entrepreneur intending to start a business has to visit different offices to pay a bribe. And by the time, he gets permission, the business idea itself become a failure.”
3-yr relief on new ventures
Once Congress is voted to power, Gandhi said that new ventures need not require any permission for three years and bank credits can be availed easily.
Pointing out that the unemployment rate has been at its highest in the last 45 years as 22 lakh jobs are vacant in the government sector, Gandhi said that Congress will fill these vacancies next year. “We will provide ten lakh jobs in Panchayat and villages,” he said.
At Theni and Madurai
Later campaigning in Theni for former TNCC president EVKS Elangovan, the Congress president said he would send some books on Tamil culture to Modi as the latter has never read about the history and culture of the Tamils.
History had shown that only the Tamil people had all along decided their future, he said adding he would send Modi a book of rationalist leader Periyar EV Ramasamy so that he can read it and understand the people of the state. Also, may be a “few books of Karunanidhi ji. The gentleman has no idea of what Tamil Nadu is...I am confident our alliance is going to win,” he said.
He termed Modi as an element of ‘hatred.’ “We are not going to fight Narendra Modi with hatred. We are going to fight Modi’s hatred with love and affection among the Indian people,” he said.
Manifesto talk
Stating that “Congress manifesto is not the “Man Ki Baat of one megalomaniac this is Kaam ki Baat (a talk about work) of the nation,” Rahul said. Describing as “most revolutionary” NYAY, the Minimum Income Support Scheme which envisages a payout of Rs 72,000 per year to the poor, Gandhi asserted no government in the world had so far attempted such a plan. He also credited the scheme to former minister P Chidambaram who hails from Tamil Nadu. He also campaigned for CPM’s Madurai candidate Su Venkatesan and Manikam Tagore, Congress candidate for Virudhunagar.
Anita factor behind Cong’s NEET promise
The Congress president allotted a considerable time in his speech to explain the Tamil Nadu sentiment behind the party’s decision to leave the NEET issue (a poll promise listed in Congress manifesto) to the states. “When we were preparing the manifesto, several functionaries from Tamil Nadu told us that Anita, a meritorious girl from a rural pocket of the backward district of Perambalur committed suicide as she could get through the NEET and get a medical seat. The story of Anita saddened me. So, the Congress felt that there should no more be any such cases of suicide by students, especially from the poor sections and rural pockets, anywhere in the country. As a mark of honour to Anita and respecting the sentiments and demand of TN people, we decided to leave the decision on holding the NEET to states in our manifesto,” he said.
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