Narendra Modi government has not done anything for people: Rahul Gandhi

Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said his government had not done any thing for the people in the last six months after making tall promises on a host of issues including bringing back black money.

Addressing a Congress rally that marked the finale of the month-long "Janapakasha Yatra" of KPCC president V M Sudheeran in Thiruvanthapuram, Gandhi accused the ruling NDA of creating animosity among communities wherever Assembly elections were held in the last few months.

"The central idea of the NDA is that the government do not give power to people. It makes communities fight each other. They run the country for a few people and corporates," Gandhi said. While the government had totally failed to fulfil its poll promises, the NDA had been causing strife between communities prior to elections in states that went to polls. "I notice one thing. Prior to elections there is violence between communities. There were riots in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand," he said.

Tearing into the Swach Bharat campaign launched by Modi, he said except words, no sufficient budget had been provided for the programme. Similarly the Government had not done anything so far on its promise of bringing back black money. "Modi, during his election campaign said we will bring back black money within 100 days of coming to power. Now hundred days are over and not a single rupee has come to the country. When we ask about it, there is silence." "Despite marketing schemes, nothing concrete is going to happen in the rest of the four-and-a-half years. But we can predict animosities are going to be spread by the BJP. So the Congress' job is to bring people together and create harmony among communities", he said.

"When people get tired of the NDA's promises and fake dreams, then they will come back to the Congress", he said. Singling out Modi for attack, he said the Government was being run as if "one man single handedly" could transform the country, which was in sharp contrast to the approach of the Congress that people should be empowered to change the country. "The view of Prime Minister, the BJP and the RSS is that one man can single handedly transform the country. This single man sitting in Delhi can change everything. They do not believe in empowering people," he said. 

Ticking Modi on his foreign trips after coming to power, Gandhi said after his visit to Australia he had asked the people of the country to learn from the farmers of that country. "My simple question to the government is that people of the country have given a mandate. What exactly you have done? You spoke about black money. Nothing has come. You talk about corruption. But corruption carries on," he said. Charging the Modi government with diluting the UPA era pro-people flagship programmes, Gandhi said this reflected the sharp difference of vision of the Congress and the BJP.

"The Congress vision is to give as much power to people as possible. In the last 10 years, the UPA Government has done this." Citing an example, he said provisions that gave power to civic bodies on land acquisition had been changed putting weaker sections at a disadvantage. Recalling Mahatma Gandhi's call for helping "the last man in the queue", the Congress leader said this was the spirit of the party.
Senior leaders A K Antony, Vayalar Ravi, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and AICC General Secretary Mukul Wasnik were present at the rally which marked the culmination of the Janapaksha yatra.