Rahul Gandhi joins civic poll Ramlila

New Delhi: After campaigning in Uttar Pradesh, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday set the tone for his party for the coming municipal elections by addressing a mega rally at Ramlila Maidan in the national capital. He attacked both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for playing “politics of false promises” and for leading “individual centric” governments.

While the Congress had organised the rally for its workers, the event was being described in the political circles as Mr Gandhi’s serious attempt to energise his party cadre to take on both the AAP and the BJP in the coming civic elections. From national to local issues, he talked about all at the packed Ramlila Maidan. Each time he raised a question before the crowd on the performance of Mr Modi and Mr Kejriwal, the crowd roared “Dhokha (deceit).”

“Both Mr Modi and Mr Kejriwal engage in politics of false promises,” Mr Gandhi said as he listed poll promises Modi and Kejriwal had made ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha and 2015 Delhi Assembly polls respectively. He said the Congress governments echo voice of every countrymen.

Mr Gandhi also attacked Mr Modi over the recent killings of Indians in the US. “Modiji talks about 56-inch chest, right? When our youth are being killed... Why he is not speaking? Because India’s Prime Minister is scared of speaking up (to the US).” Apart from the Delhi Congress faces like Ajay Maken and Arvinder Singh Lovely, senior leaders Kapil Sibal, P.C. Chacko and Sheila Dikshit were also present. After a brief speech by Mr Maken, it was Mr Gandhi who spoke on the occasion — thus making it clear that the rally was to mark the beginning of the party’s civic poll campaign.

The civic elections are critical for the revival of Congress in Delhi as it lost to the AAP in the Ass-embly elections after ruling the city for 15 consecutive years. The party was not able to win even a single of the seven Lok Sabha seats in 2014 in Delhi.

The Ramlila Maidan has become an iconic symbol in Delhi political circles ever since Gandhian Anna Hazare launched his anti-corruption crusade and Mr Kejriwal held his first swearing-in ceremony as Delhi chief minister in 2013. In his electrifying speech, Mr Gandhi criticized the function of  the AAP government in Delhi.

He did not even spare the BJP-run three municipal corporations by raising the issue of dengue and other water borne diseases.  “ Is baar jo bachhe dengue se mare kya Congress ke samay who marte the? ..   Modi Ji  talks about uprooting corruption, what civic body is more corrupt that BJP run MCDs?

Expressing concern over continued racial attac ks on Indians abroad, the Congress leader  hit out at the BJP government for its “silence” on the issue.“Narendra Modi hugs Obama but says nothing when Indians die in the US””Modi Ji who never tires of using NRIs for vote getting exercises and for reflecting his connects to the non-resident Indians and people of Indian origin, is completely mum on the issue,” he added