Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday campaigned for party candidate Kishori Lal Sharma in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi, a constituency once seen a pocket borough of the Nehru-Gandhi family. Rahul, who lost the Amethi seat to BJP’s Smriti Irani in 2019, is contensting the Lok Sabha election from Raebareli this time. He is also re-contesting from the Wayanad seat in Kerala, a constituency he represents since 2019.
Joined by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Gandhi addressed a joint public rally in support of INDIA bloc candidate Sharma and said that even though he was contesting from Raebareli, a seat long held by his mother and now Rajya Sabha MP Sonia Gandhi, he has always felt he blongs to Amethi.
“I came here for the first time 42 years ago with my father (Rajiv Gandhi). Whatever I have learned about politics, it has been taught to me by the Amethi public. At that time, there were no roads and no development. And I have witnessed the relationship of love between the people here and my father.
“And that is also (my style) of politics. So, you do not think that I am contesting from Raebareli… I was, am and will belong to Amethi,” Gandhi said. The Congress decided to field Gandhi from Raebareli, disregarding the demands from within the party that he should enter the fight from Amethi instead of choosing a relatively safer seat.
In Amethi, Gandhi described the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as a ‘distinct election’. Holding a copy of the Constitution, he stated, “For the first time, a political party and its leaders are saying clearly that they would rewrite the Constitution and throw it away. This is a legacy of Gandhiji’s, Ambedkarji’s, Jawaharlal Nehru’s and every citizen of the country.”
Accompanied by Congress general secretary KC Venugopal and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Gandhi urged the gathering to protect the Constitution.
“Would you let it (the Constitution) get erased? Is there any power in the world that can erase it?,” he questioned, adding “The first thing we have to do is protect the Constitution. Why? It is your voice. Your future. Your thought is embedded in it. Whatever has been given to the poor people in the country so far, be it the right to land, assistance to farmers, or the green revolution, all of it has been achieved on the back of this book.”
Attacking PM Modi, he said, “(Prime Minister) Narendra Modi wants to put an end to this (Constitution). If it disappears, then there would be no public sector, no jobs, skyrocketing inflation, reservations would come to an end, and all of your rights would be snatched one by one.
“In India, there would be 22-25 rich people left behind whose rights would be secured without it (Constitution). The rights of farmers, labourers, youth, mothers and sisters would be snatched, ” said the Congress leader.
At the same rally, SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the BJP was struggling in the Lok Sabha polls and said that the people of the country have decided that they will make the party yearn for even 140 seats.
Amethi, among the most closely watched constituencies, will vote in the fifth phase on May 20 while the results are scheduled to be announced on June 4.
