Govt dividing people on caste, religion basis:Rahul

Manama (Bahrain), January 8

In his first address to NRIs outside India after taking over as Congress president, Rahul Gandhi today accused the government of dividing people on the basis of caste and religion, alleging it was converting the anger of jobless youth into hatred among communities.

Gandhi also assured the NRI community here that he would give a “new shining Congress party” in the next six months, hinting that there will be dramatic changes in the organisation. Noting that there was a “serious problem” in the country, he urged NRIs to be a part of this restructuring.

He also exuded confidence that the Congress will defeat the BJP in 2019.

Addressing NRIs at the meeting of Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), Gandhi gave his vision for the country saying his top three priorities would be to create jobs, good health infrastructure and an education system. “India today is free, but once again it is under threat. There are two clear threats that face our country today. Our government has failed to create jobs for people.

“Instead of uniting people of all religions together, the government is busy creating the anger due to lack of jobs into hatred between communities,” he said. He claimed that the government’s failure to create jobs is resulting in “tremendous unrest” in India. Noting that Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and BR Ambedkar were also NRIs, he said: “Our ancestors needed you in 1947 to protect the idea of India and I have come to seek your help to transform India now.” — PTI