Rahul Gandhi: BJP ‘jailed Adivasi CM’ in Jharkhand, will erase rights for poor

Singhbum (Jharkhand): Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that it was important to save the Constitution to protect the right of reservations for the Dalits, the tribals and the Backward communities.

He also said that the BJP had jailed an Adivasi chief minister Hemant Soren but he would be released soon.

Addressing a huge public rally here, Gandhi took out a copy of the Constitution and showed it to the public saying, “This is not an ordinary book, this is the Constitution; the voice of the Adivasis, the Dalits, the backwards and the poor.”

He said the election is important for the future of the Dalits, the Adivasis, the backwards and poor from the general castes as all the rights like reservation, education, healthcare etc are granted and protected by the Constitution only. He pointed out, that the BJP leaders were repeatedly asserting that they would be changing the Constitution. He warned, that if the Constitution goes, everything will go along with it.

‘Ready to sacrifice lives for Constitution’

However, the former Congress president said, the Congress and the INDIA bloc are fighting the elections together to protect the Constitution. He said they will not let the BJP scrap or change the Constitution. He said they could even sacrifice their lives to save the Constitution.

He alleged that Modi wanted to rule the country without any Constitution. He said he was working only for Adani who had an eye on the land, the forests and the water, which the Congress will not allow him to take away.

He warned against the BJP’s intentions towards the Adivasis, saying the BJP calls them ‘Vanvasis’, which means that they are just inhabitants of the jungle without any rights. While as, he added, the Congress calls them ‘Adivasis’ which means they are the original owners of the forest, its land and resources and have the first right on everything there.

Women from poor families will receive Rs 1 lakh per year

Referring to some of the guarantees, the Congress leader said, his party will make crores of ‘lakhpatis’ (millionaires) the same way Modi made just 22 super-billionaires. He said, one woman in every poor family across the country will receive Rs one lakh every year.

For the youth, he announced ‘pehli naukri pakki’, with the Right to Apprenticeship under which every fresh graduate and diploma holder will be entitled to get a year's apprenticeship with a guaranteed income of Rs 1 lakh.

Besides, he announced, the system of contractual appointments will be done away with and all recruitments and appointments in the government and public sector undertakings will be on a regular basis and each government job will be pensionable.

He said, the minimum daily wages, including those of the MGNREGA workers, will be raised to Rs 400, besides the income of Anganwadi and Asha workers will be doubled.

The farmers’ debt will be waived off and they will get a legal guarantee for the MSP on the crops, he added.