On campaign trail, Rahul Gandhi again takes jibe at Modi

Sindhanur (Raichur): After his rear-view mirror drive jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday likened the PM to “a cricketer who bats looking at the wicketkeeper without knowing from where the ball is coming”.

“If Sachin Tendulkar would have batted looking at the wicketkeeper, could he have scored a single run? Our Prime Minister is such a cricketer who looks at the wicketkeeper and does not know from where the ball is coming from,” he quipped at a public meeting here.

On day two of his campaign in the run-up to the Assembly elections, Mr Gandhi, on seeing the unprecedented crowds at his rallies, chose to hit the PM where it hurts most. He advised Mr Modi to take a leaf from the life of Basavanna, the 12-century social reformer who propounded the concept Kaayakave Kailasa (Work is Worship). Mr Modi while giving a reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in the Lok Sabha last week, had advised CM Siddaramaaiah to derive inspiration from Basaveshwara’a Anubhava Mantapa.

The Congress in Karnataka led by Mr Siddaramaiah had walked the talk and followed the principles of Guru Basavanna, while Modi had failed on this count, said Mr Gandhi. “The BJP failed to create jobs, bring back black money and brought down the economy, but all Mr Modi talks about is ‘Congress this, Congress that.’ When I requested for a farm loan waiver, Siddaramaiahji immediately obliged.”

The government in Delhi, according to Mr Gandhi, works for 5-10 capitalists. Last year, the Modi government waived loans worth '1.2 lakh crore of the richest people. “I went to see him only once and that was for farm loan waiver, but Mr Modi did not respond. He didn’t even say he would consider the proposal,” he said.

The Congress is serious about the promises it makes and would not make promises like depositing Rs 15 lakh in every one’s account. “Like we ran a government of the poor over the past five years we will run a government that will take everybody along. We will do more work. We won’t promise Rs 15 lakh. But what you have heard here, we’ll do. Be it article 371 J, farm loan waiver, or Indira canteen. What we say we do. I and my family has an old connection with Karnataka, whenever you call, I will come,” he said.

On Monday, Mr Gandhi will address a tribal rally at Devadurga in Raichur and two public meetings at Jevargi and Kalburgi in Kalaburgi. He is also scheduled to visit the Sharana Basaveshwara temple and the Khwaja Bande Nawaz dargah, both in Gulbarga, in the evening.