Modi govt is for a handful of corporates: Rahul

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has evoked the AAP’s favourite slogan of bijli-paani (power-water) to win back his party’s base in Delhi.

Leading a roadshow here on Tuesday, the first major programme of his party for the Delhi election campaign, Rahul said only a Congress government can provide power and water at the lowest possible rates.

The roadshow that covered the Kalkaji constituency began at Rajiv Gandhi Colony, a suburb located opposite to the Okhla Industrial Area and populated largely by migrant workers. The seat is presently held by the BJP.

“Our main issue is irregular supply of drinking water. We elected a Congress member for 15 years. Despite several complaints, the issue remains unresolved,” said Ashafaq Karim, a factory worker from West Bengal who had come for a glimpse of Rahul. Karim said he voted for the AAP last year, but this year he says the Congress “seems to have changed its style.”

Satisfied over the heavy turnout at the roadshow, a local Congress worker claimed the party has learned a lesson from two consecutive defeats.

Subhash Chopra, a three-time MLA who lost to BJP candidate Harmeet Singh in 2013, is engaged in door-to-door visits this time. “Chopra’s attitude has changed. He was so complacent that he thought in 2013 that everything can be managed using a mobile phone sitting at home. Now he has understood that without mass connect you cannot win the confidence of people,” the Congress worker said.

The party’s attempt is to minimise the flow of votes to the AAP.

“We lost last time because there was an undercurrent favouring the AAP and it helped the BJP. This time we are cautious,” he added.

Later, talking to reporters at nearby Govindpuri, Rahul said the BJP government survives by public relation stunts. “People have started asking when this government will stop talking and start working,” he said, adding that the Modi establishment is working for a few corporate houses.

The Nehru scion added that if brought to power, the Congress will pass a law for the right to shelter along the lines of MGNREGA. “We are a party of the poor. We will make a government in Delhi and will continue to hold the hands of the poor,” he said, adding that power and water charges will be reduced if the Congress forms the government.

In a well-attended roadshow that lasted an hour and a half, Rahul travelled in an open mini truck. Senior Congress leaders Ajay Maken, PC Chacko and Arvinder Singh Lovely accompanied him.

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