lok-sabha-elections

Updated: Mar 12, 2019 17:52 IST

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday targeted Prime Minister Narendra while addressing a public rally in his home state, Gujarat saying the institutions of the country are being attacked under the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre. Gandhi said the judges of the Supreme Court are seeking “justice” complaining that they are not being allowed to function.

“In today’s India the judges of the Supreme Court seek justice in front of people…This is not happening only with the Supreme Court…The institutions are under attack everywhere,” said Gandhi hitting out at the Modi government.

“For the first time in history, four judges of the Supreme Court went to the press and said we are not being allowed to work, and take the name of judge (Brijmohan) Loya immediately after that,” Gandhi said at the Jan Sankalp rally of the Congress in the Gujarat capital.

CBI judge Loya was hearing a case pertaining to alleged fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh at the time of his death in 2014. His death led to a huge political row last year following a media report claiming foul play behind his death. BJP president Amit Shah was an accused in the case.

The Congress president said the government doesn’t talk about the real issues. “The biggest issue in the country is unemployment, which is at 45-year high but the government doesn’t talk about this,” he said.

Gandhi made the remarks at an election rally in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar after attending the Congress Working Committee meet at Ahmedabad. He said the decision to hold CWC meet in Gujarat after nearly six decades was taken in the view of the “fight between two ideologies” in the country.

“Both ideologies are seen here in Gujarat. On the one hand, there is an ideology of Mahatma Gandhi that ideology has built this nation…Today, the other powers are trying to weaken this country,” said Gandhi.

The highest decision making body of the Congress met in Ahmedabad earlier in the day to prepare final strategy for the Lok Sabha elections that will be held between April 11 and May 19 spread over seven phases. This was the first CWC meeting in Gujarat since 1961. It was also the first CWC meeting attended by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

At the Congress strategy meet, the party leadership decided to corner the BJP-led ruling National Democratic Alliance over the issues of demonetisation, GST (goods and services tax) rollout, unemployment, agrarian distress and corruption. The Congress has alleged corruption in Rafale deal.

At his election rally, Gandhi reiterated his charge that PM Modi scrapped the Rafale deal being negotiated by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government and signed a new agreement with France to “benefit his friend Anil Ambani”. Both the government and Reliance Defence have, on several occasions, denied the allegations levelled by the Congress and Gandhi.