'Diversionary tactics': Rahul Gandhi on BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri's remarks, Bharat row

Shubhadeep Choudhury

New Delhi, September 24

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday accused the PM Narendra Modi government of resorting to “distraction and diversion” to turn people’s attention away from real issues.

On BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s communally charged verbal assault against BSP lawmaker Danish Ali in the Lok Sabha, Rahul said the saffron party was indulging in such tactics to divert people’s attention from the demand for a caste census.

Speaking at an event, he said the idea of ‘one nation, one election’ was also aimed at distracting people from real issues. “The main issues in India are concentration of wealth, inequality, massive unemployment, unfair treatment of lower castes, OBCs and tribal communities, and inflation,” Rahul said.

The Congress leader said since the BJP was not able to defend itself when confronted with these issues, it was making its leaders make controversial statements, propose simultaneous elections, change the name of the country, and so on. “This is all distraction. We know it, we understand it,” he said. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also made similar allegations. “Now that the special session of Parliament is over, it is clear that the Modi government was trying to distract and divert the nation from some critical issues — the Adani scam, caste census and especially the rising unemployment, growing inequality and the economic distress,” Ramesh said.