Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Imphal.  |  Photo Credit: ANI
Imphal: Ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Manipur, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday launched a scathing attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) saying that their leaders come to the state with a sense of superiority.
Addressing a public rally in Imphal, the former Congress president said, “When BJP and RSS come to Manipur, they come not with respect, not with understanding. They come with a sense of superiority. When I come here, I don’t come with a sense of superiority, I come with humility.”
“I come with humility because I understand that you have a lot to give, that there is a lot I can learn from you – from the diverse tribes, from the valley, from the hills, from everybody here,” the Congress leader added.
Rahul Gandhi again reiterated the ‘Union of States’ barb to attack the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government and said the ruling BJP’s vision is that there is one ideology, one idea, one language that is superior to all other ideas, languages, all other cultures.
“The BJP and RSS reacted to my speech. Did it not like that I said India was a Union of States? There are two definitions of our country. One definition that it is a Union of States, a Union of People where every single state has an equal right in India,” he added.
Voting in Manipur on February 28, March 5
The elections will be held in Manipur to elect 60 members of the Legislative Assembly in two phases. Voting for the first phase will be held on February 28, while the second phase will take place on March 5.
The counting of votes will take place on March 10, as per the Election Commission of India (ECI).
In previous assembly polls, Congress had won a total of 28 seats and emerged as the single largest party in the 60-member Manipur house. However, the grand old party couldn’t form the government and saw its members deserting the party from time to time.
Later, the BJP formed the government in the state with the support of three regional parties – Naga People’s Front (NPF) National Peoples Party (NPP), and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), while it also got the support of an independent MLA.