Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], June 1 : Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday said that the country and the Prime Minister are separate and not the same.
Launching a scathing attack at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that he had to launch 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' because all instruments of doing politics (connecting with people) were "being controlled" and the "whole India" walked with him during the mega foot march.
Rahul Gandhi, who is on a 10-day tour to the US, was addressing the Indian diaspora at an event titled 'Mohabbat ki Dukaan' in San Francisco on Wednesday.
Addressing a gathering there, Rahul Gandhi said, "Some months ago, we started a walk from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. While walking we realised that normal instruments for doing politics (connecting with people) were not working anymore. They were controlled by the BJP and RSS. People are threatened and agencies are used against them. In some way, it had become quite difficult to act politically. That is why we decided to walk from the southernmost tip of India to Srinagar."
Taking a jibe at PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi said that some groups in India have the "disease" of being under the impression that they know everything.
Reacting to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing Rahul Gandhi of insulting the country whenever he visits foreign countries, CM Baghel said, "The country and the Prime Minister are two different things and both cannot be considered the same. "
While speaking to the media at Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur, CM Baghel said, "Is PM Modi the whole country? No, isn't it? The blind followers of PM Modi should listen seriously to what Rahul Gandhi is saying."
Responding to PM Modi's comment that Congress's 'Formula of Guarantees' will leave the country bankrupt, Baghel said, "If we give something to farmers, they (BJP) make the same comment in terms of Chhattisgarh. They (BJP) consider Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana, 35 kilograms of rice to each poor family, half power tariff (till 400 units) and procurement of cow dung under Godhan Nyay Yojana as freebies."
"Despite giving these to people, Chhattisgarh's economy is better as compared to what the central government and some BJP-ruled states have," claimed CM Baghel.
Reacting sharply to the attacks made by the BJP over the issue of Ram as well as Ramayan Mahotsav, CM Baghel said "BJP is feeling insecure. Ram has a special connection with Chhattisgarh. We remember Ram at a time of happiness as well as sorrow but BJP only at the time of elections and for votes. This is the biggest difference between the two (parties)."
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