Protesting inflation and unemployment, a group of Congress workers led by Jagdish Sharma, National President of Rahul Priyanka Gandhi Sena (RPG Sena), organised a protest march -- "Halla Bol"-- against the Central government in SAS Nagar district of Punjab on Saturday.
Addressing the protest, RPG Sena president Sharma attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP-led Central government for "selling assets of the country".
"The government of India failed completely. We have never seen the Prime Minister speaking or addressing the issues of unemployment and inflation. We must remember that when the Congress government was in power at the Centre, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh used to interact with the general people. Since this government came to power, the Prime Minister has not addressed the people's issues. Now petrol prices and inflation both are going up," he said.
Further attacking the central government Sharma said, " Before the NDA government came to power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised that farmers will be happy in BJP's regime but so many farmers have died while protesting, however, the government seems least bothered."
"We are all children of farmers. The athletes who won medals are also farmers' children. But the government organised the event with a huge picture of the Prime Minister and projected that the gold medal came to India because BJP is in power. As if gold medals were never won before. The way they talk seems as if like India never existed before," he added.
RPG Sena president also raised slogans asking when the Prime Minister would speak about the pressing issues including inflation, unemployment, jawans, and farmers.Sharma further lambasted the government over the proposed National Monetisation Pipeline. "Unemployed people are unable to raise their children and they (government) are saying they'll make the country self-reliant. Will they make India self-reliant by selling it?" he said.
The Congress leader further said that his party has "built" the country for over 70 years that the BJP is selling now.
"The national wealth that Congress had built in over 70 years including Railways, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) and Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), big schools, and roads. Today you (the government) are saying you'll make India self-reliant by selling them. We don't want such Aatmanirbhar Bharat where we are ashamed by selling the country's properties," he stated.
He said Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are going to people's houses and asking them to "create history and not to sell it.""Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel created history. But, they (government) brought back the country in 1947-- to Hindu-Muslim and India-Pakistan. They have finished the people who voted them to power," Sharma added.
Urging party workers to work under Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh in Punjab, he said. "There might be an internal difference in the party in Punjab and Chhattisgarh, but we will work together and fight the elections together. However, BJP wants to project that there are problems in Congress, but there is nothing like that. We are all under the flag of Congress."
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor