New Delhi: In a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi remarked on Monday, "President Droupadi Murmu is an 'Adivasi' (belonging to tribal community), so she was not invited to the mega event."
During a public gathering in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi as part of the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', Gandhi said, "Did you see the Ram Mandir event? It was held with great fanfare. But did you see any Dalit faces? Our President is an Adivasi, so she wasn't allowed to attend the event. Did you see any farmer or labourer during the event? No backward class faces were anywhere seen during the event. But you must have seen Adani, Ambani, and their families. All the businessmen were there. Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Narendra Modi were there," he said, as per ANI.
Meanwhile, Gandhi said, "This is their India. This is not yours. All you do is chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', while all they do is have helicopter rides and make money."
Congress Will Give Legal Guarantee For MSP: Rahul Gandhi
Reaffirming the Congress party's commitment to the welfare of farmers, Rahul Gandhi reiterated the promise of a legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) during his recent address. Expressing concern over the treatment of farmers, he highlighted instances where they were prevented from entering the national capital, reported ANI.
"Farmers were stopped from entering the national capital. What are they demanding? All they are asking for is MSP; it's no huge thing", ANI quoted Rahul Gandhi as saying. He also emphasised the significance of conducting a caste census, referring to it as a "social X-ray of society.
"We have also promised a social X-ray of society, that is, caste census. We will get to know the percentage of the OBCs, Dalits and Backward Class people", Rahul remarked.
He said that the Congress party and its allies within the I.N.D.I.A bloc have been demanding the central government to conduct a comprehensive caste census across the country.
However, the ruling BJP has expressed reservations about the caste census, citing concerns over its potential to further divide society, as per ANI.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi has resumed his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Uttar Pradesh's Amethi, as part of a larger tour spanning 15 states ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections scheduled for April-May. Amethi, once a Congress stronghold, witnessed Gandhi's defeat to Smriti Irani by a narrow margin in the 2019 elections.