'Shiv Bhakt' Rahul Gandhi to undertake Kailash Mansarovar Yatra after Karnataka mid-air scare
Congress President Rahul Gandhi has been pretty vocal about his religious beliefs. It was after the 2017 controversy over his visit to Gujarat’s Somnath Temple that the Congress chief had said that ‘My grandmother and my family are Shiv Bhakts.’
In what would be seen as an extension of his religious beliefs, Gandhi on Sunday announced about his ‘mannat’ or wish to trek Kailash Mansarovar.
Talking about the mid-air scare when his plane had developed a technical snag in Karnataka last week, Gandhi said that ‘when our plane nosedived 8,000 feet, I thought gaadi aa gayi (time has come). It was then I decided that I would undertake Kailash Yatra.’
Gandhi made these statements during the massive Jan Akrosh rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on Sunday.
Referring to the incident in which an aircraft carrying him to Karnataka's Hubballi nosedived before landing safely, Gandhi said he thought of God at that time and added he will undertake Kailash Mansarovar yatra after the Karnataka polls.
With mega rally, the Congress has sounded the 2019 poll bugle.
Slamming PM Modi, Gandhi questioned why the country's "chowkidar" was silent on issues of graft and weakening of institutions. "Modi ji did not speak a single word on Doklam during his visit to China. What kind of prime minister is he," asked Gandhi at the rally held at Ramilia Maidan.
Further targeting the prime minister, Gandhi sought to compare the performance of the governments led by his party with that of the Modi dispensation at the Centre.
"Prime Minister Modi gave unemployment, 'Gabbar Singh Tax' (the term the Congress coined for the Goods and Services Tax to target the government), BJP MLA inflicted atrocities on women (Unnao rape case) in his tenure," Gandhi said.
Gandhi exuded confidence that his party will emerge victorious in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh assembly polls and defeat the BJP in the 2019 general polls.
He also said that the Congress will respect veteran and young leaders of the party alike and that it will allow different views to emerge.
He was apparently referring to the remarks of senior party leader Salman Khurshid, who had recently said that there were Muslims' blood stains on hands of Congress. The party had distanced itself from Khurshid's views.
Gandhi also hailed Congress workers, saying they have laid their lives for "truth and the country" and described them as "sher ka bachha" (lion cubs).
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