JD(S) Has Changed From Secular to Sangh, Says Rahul Gandhi
MYSURU: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asked former prime minister HD Deve Gowda’s party Janata Dal (Secular) to come clean on its support to the BJP.
“JD(S), they have to make it clear whether they are the BJP’s B team or not. They (JD-S) have to make it clear whether they are supporting the BJP, if yes, why?, he asked at a public meeting in the Vokkaliga belt of the old Mysuru region, considered a JD(S) stronghold.
The Congress president, who is in the fourth round of campaigning in poll-bound Karnataka, is currently touring the old Mysuru region, where the Vokkaliga community has a significant presence. The JD(S) enjoys the support of the Vokkaligas.
On Saturday too, Rahul had dubbed JD(S) a “B-team” of BJP and had nicknamed JD(S) as “Janata Dal Sangh Parivar.”. Taking on the JD(S), he had said ‘S’ in JD(S) stood for secular, “but in this election, they have got a new name JD(S) – Janata Dal Sangh Parivar.”
The Congress chief had further said that the coming Assembly polls was a face-off between two ideologies – on one side BJP and RSS and on the other the Congress.
“In between, there is the third party which is the B team of BJP that is JD(S),” he had said at a public rally in Malavalli in Mandya district.Rahul had told the gathering, “I will tell you. Let BJP’s A team, B team or C team come together. Congress party is going to win this election.”
Meanwhile, terming employment generation the “biggest problem” in the country, Rahul on Sunday attacked the BJP-led central government for “not” fulfilling the promises it had made to the people such as job creation and addressing the issue of farmers’ distress.
Raising the Nirav Modi issue and alleging that the diamantaire had run away with Rs 22,000 crore, the Congress president questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the matter. “What kind of chowkidari (watchman’s job) is Narendra Modi doing,” he asked.
Praising the Siddaramaiah government in the state, Rahul said it had worked for the poor, downtrodden and backward communities. He even credited the CM with running a “clean government”. The
Stating that the Congress believed in the ideology of 12th century saint, social reformer Basavanna, Gandhi said JDS call themselves secular, “but they have become the B team of BJP and are supporting them.”
“BJP is a party that believes in dividing the country, we will have to defeat them.Earlier speaking at Chamarajanagar, Gandhi accused the BJP of “attacking” the Constitution and vowed to thwart any attempt to change the statut.
We will not allow the BJP to change the constitution. we will make sure that the Congress will protect the work of Ambedkarji,” he told the gathering.