PM Modi ‘biased’ towards Adani, discriminating against Wayanad landslide victims: Rahul

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra says the behaviour of the ruling party, the BJP, knows no democratic norms

Rahul Gandhi, Opposition leader in the Lok Sabha, has said that he and his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, are a “feeling in the heart of the people of Wayanad”.

He was addressing a public meeting at Mukkom in Kozhikode district, which is part of the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, on Saturday afternoon as part of a reception accorded to Ms. Vadra for her recent election from there to the Lok Sabha.

Mr. Gandhi said that his sister had won with a majority of over 4 lakh votes. Of the 9.52 lakh votes polled, she got around 6.6 lakh votes, which meant that in the hearts of over six lakh people, there was a feeling towards making her an MP. Even those who voted for her rival candidate might also have thought about choosing her, he said.

“We are a feeling in the heart of the people of Wayanad. The people have put trust and belief in us and told us to go to the Parliament of India and represent this feeling there. The most important thing for us is to represent the feeling that has sent us there,” Mr. Gandhi said.

Mr. Gandhi, meanwhile, claimed that his party was engaged in an ideological fight in Parliament to protect the Constitution. “The Constitution says that all Indians should be treated equally, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi says [Gautam] Adani should be treated differently from other Indians. Mr. Modi says it doesn’t matter if Mr. Adani has been indicted and called a criminal in the United States, and in India, we will not indict him. The Indian Constitution says treat all the States and regions fairly, but the Prime Minister says regardless of what tragedy Wayanad has faced, I will not give them the support that is their due,” he alleged.

Mr. Gandhi said that the BJP was in control of the government and the media and have the support of the intelligence and other agencies. “We just have the feeling of the people,” he said. Calling himself the unofficial Member of Parliament, he advised his sister to be guided by the people of Wayanad in her future decisions.

Ms. Vadra said that the political challenge her party was facing was like the landslide that struck Chooralmala and Mundakkai. “There are no rules, no explanations. The behaviour of the ruling party, the BJP, knows no democratic norms that we would normally adhere to for a political fight. Institutions are destroyed. Even our basic faith in electoral democracy, in other institutions that held our country together, wavers. Our fight is for the basic values of our Constitution,” she said.

Ms. Vadra said that in Parliament, she would raise the voice of the people and try to resolve their problems. “It has been four months since landslides struck Chooralmala and Mundakkai. It has been an inspiration for me how the people of Wayanad came together, to see how all those people who lost so much in their lives continued to stand up and fight and went ahead with their lives,” she said.

She spoke about Hanya, a child from Wayanad, one of the survivors of the landslide, who told her that his hobby was helping the people. “He lost all his family members, he tried for six hours to save his mother from the floods, but couldn’t, he is telling me that his hobby is helping other people who are suffering. Those words are written like a ‘talisman’ in my heart. This child of Wayanad is showing me the way ahead,” she added.

Published - November 30, 2024 03:04 pm IST