Maharashtra polls: Modi has insulted Munda, Ambedkar, Phule, says Rahul Gandhi

Nandurbar: Need of caste census, purported denigration of the constitution by prime minister Narendra Modi and insult of icons of the country such as Birsa Munda, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and Mahatma Phule were the leading thoughts of leader of opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Nandurbar, a tribal belt in Maharashtra, on Thursday, ahead of the assembly elections.

At the Maharashtra Swabhiman Sabha rally Gandhi promised the electorate that if the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is elected to power, tribals, members of the scheduled caste (SC) and OBCs will find representation through caste census. The Gandhis have had a close association with Nandurbar since the time of late prime minister Indira Gandhi. On Thursday, the LoP underlined the family’s connection with the community.

In the Lok Sabha elections six months ago, the Congress and INDIA bloc parties won all the seats in north Maharashtra’s tribal belt. Last week, at a rally in Dhule, 95 kilometers from Nandurbar, PM Modi accused Congress of dividing the tribals, SCs and OBCs and wanting to cut their reservation to give it to Muslims.

Protect tribals

In a counter attack, Gandhi drew attention to the low representation of these communities in power and government, and assured them that “Congress will protect your rights and give opportunity in power and government, conduct caste census and also remove the cap of 50% on the reservation”.

He slammed the BJP and RSS for not accepting Adivasis as first residents of India. “BJP calls you Vanvasi. But the constitution says you are Adivasi – the first owners of India. Jal, jungle and zamin are rights of Adivasis. Birsa Munda fought with the British who deprived this demographic of their rights. RSS-BJP has the same mindset as the British,” he said.

Gandhi also said that population of tribals in country is around 8% but their share in resources is just 10 paisa of ₹100 which “the Congress wants to change”.

Save the constitution

Turning to the constitution, he alleged, “Prime minister Narendra Modi and BJP have objected to the red colour of the copy of constitution which I display in rallies. But colour of book is not an issue for us – it may be red or blue; but Congress’s commitment to protect the constitution is the real fight. We believe the country must be run according to the constitution, unlike the BJP. Modi feels copy of constitution is blank because he never read it and has no idea of what it contains.”

During the speech, he held up a picture of Birsa Munda saying that his thoughts were adopted in constitution. “How can Modi then say the constitution is blank. It is the soul of the country; it has knowledge of Indian culture, contains pure thoughts of great icons like Munda, Dr Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Mahatma Phule and Gautam Buddha. By saying constitution is blank, Modi insulted the great leaders,” he said.

Loss of jobs in Maha

He slammed the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra for losing five lakh jobs to neighbouring states like Gujarat, underscoring the shift of industrial investment like Vedanta-Foxconn, Tata-Airbus etc to Gujarat. “But MVA government will not allow this and will ensure job creation in Maharashtra,” he added.

He also called attention to the welfare schemes declared by MVA for women, farmers and youths. “Economically backward women under Mahalaxmi scheme will get ₹3000 and allowed free travel by bus. Farmers will get farm loan waiver upto ₹3 lakh, and a guaranteed price on soybean, cotton etc. MVA will conduct a caste survey and will find out the true number of ST and others. It will give you ₹25 lakh health insurance,” he said.