Haveri: Congress president Rahul Gandhi was in Haveri, Karnataka, to address an election rally. The Congress was expecting more than a lakh in attendance, but the rally turned out to be a damp squib, with a spartan crowd turning up!  As expected, Rahul Gandhi’s narratives were set with an agenda of mocking Modi and his schemes, but with the BJP giving it back in equal measure, Rahul must have understood that mere talks and no stuff would make him a dull boy!

First on the list of his criticisms was how it was the BJP-led NDA government in the year 1999 that released the mastermind of the Pulwama attack, Maulana Masood Azhar. Rahul went on to add that the Congress would not bend down on its knees before any terrorist or terrorist organisation. But, in its reply, the BJP was nothing else but sincere in the way it handled the entire issue.

“Circumstances at that time dictated the move. It was a 24-party government. The media consistently highlighted the plight of the family members of the ones who were inside the hijacked plane. The NDA did not have a plethora of options at its disposal. That is best move we could think of,” said BJP spokesperson Sreenath Seshadri.  

Rahul’s next diatribe was how the BJP, under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, was creating two parallel Indias – one, an India which was filled with the rich like the Nirav Modis and Choksis. And two, an India that was filled with youth with no employment.

To this, the BJP chose to highlight economic growth.

“India is the fastest growing economy in the world with highest GDP. There is a high rate of production. To say there is no employment while the rate of production is high is asinine. Also the income has doubled to Rs 15 lakh crore. Where does this money come from? It comes with income tax. Increase in flying fraternity has also taken place. Sans economic growth, there will be no flyers. In tourism alone, the income has risen by 30% to 40%. 1.4 crore jobs have been created with the help of Mudra Yojana alone,” added Sreenath Seshadri.  

The BJP appears unfazed and unrattled at the jibes thrown by the Congress president. It has ridiculed his speech as outright ‘garland of lies’.

“There was nothing new in the speech. It was a garland of lies. He blatantly lies and that made us surprised. There was no positivity in his speech. People will certainly not be impressed,” quipped the BJP spokesperson.