At a very energetic rally in Serampore on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi said Narendra Modi (the Prime Minister) and Mamata Banerjee (the Chief Minister of West Bengal) are the same in that they both help the rich instead of the poor. He strongly said they’re only after power, ignoring jobs, small businesses, and a peaceful society.
Speaking to voters in Hooghly district, the Congress leader said Modi says he loves India, but is actually “selling the country”. He said Banerjee is doing the same thing in West Bengal and that neither leader is worrying about how people get by each day.
Rahul Gandhi links Mamata and Modi on pro-rich charge
Gandhi claimed Banerjee “is helping the rich, not the poor” in West Bengal, and “Modi is doing the same all over the country”. Both leaders, he said, “want to have power, but aren’t working for the people”, and his party is concerned with employment and helping people.
He also said that “wherever the Prime Minister goes, he creates hatred and makes people afraid”. He wanted people to think of the party in power at the national level, and the Trinamool Congress in the same way.
Key points from the Serampore speech
Gandhi’s main assertions at the rally were:
– Both leaders help the rich, not the poor
– Neither leadership focuses on creating job opportunities
– PM spreads hatred and fear among people
– Demonetisation and GST hurt small industries
– Left Front and TMC ruined Bengal industry
Ideologies in conflict, says Gandhi
Gandhi described the campaign as a battle between two sets of beliefs. Congress, he said, is about “unity and brotherhood”, and the BJP and RSS are about “hatred and violence”.
He emphasized that people working together is the most important thing for a country to do well, and accused the Prime Minister of weakening that cooperation. He asked voters to see Congress as the party that will provide people with the ability to earn a living with dignity and live together in peace.
Economic policies and Bengal industry under scrutiny
When talking about the economy of the country, Gandhi blamed the Prime Minister for harming small businesses with demonetization and a poorly done GST (Goods and Services Tax). He said these things hurt the informal economy and caused people to lose their jobs, which shows that the government has helped the rich.
Regarding West Bengal, Gandhi said the state “used to be the place where all the factories were”, but “the Left Front and then the TMC have ruined everything”. He said this decline is because of the lack of jobs and said that both the state and national leaders have failed workers and small business owners.
Why the remarks matter now
Gandhi’s point of putting Modi and Banerjee in the same category is to make the difference between them on the issues of how wealth is distributed, jobs and social harmony disappear. This strategy shows he’s trying to get a single push of votes from people who are disappointed with the leaders of both the country and the state.
The speech in Serampore made the main points of the campaign clearer: who benefits from the government’s plans, who is making jobs, and who is bringing communities together. Gandhi’s message says that Congress is the opposite of the BJP and TMC and is based on his focus on unity and financial help.
