As the nation mourns the death of Mahatma Gandhi on his 72nd death anniversary, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and compared him to Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse. Addressing a rally in Kerala’s Kalpetta, Rahul said, “Nathuram Godse and Narendra Modi believe in the same ideology. There is no difference, except that Narendra Modi does not have the guts to say he believes in Nathuram Godse.”
#WATCH Rahul Gandhi, Congress in Kalpetta, Kerala: Nathuram Godse shot Mahatma Gandhi because he did not believe in himself, he loved no one, he cared for nobody, he believed in nobody and that is the same with our Prime Minister, he only loves himself, only believes in himself. pic.twitter.com/itx4GKiVIM
— ANI (@ANI) January 30, 2020
The former Congress president led a “Save the Constitution” march in his Lok Sabha constituency Wayanad. Addressing the rally later, Rahul also targetted PM Modi over the recently amended citizenship law. “Indians are being made to prove that they are Indians, who is Narendra Modi to decide if I am Indian? Who has given him the licence to decide who is Indian and who is not? I know I am an Indian and I do not have to prove it to anybody,” he said.
The Congress leader also targetted the Prime Minister on the issue of jobs and the economy and accused him of using diversionary tactics when asked to address the pressing issues. “Notice that whenever you ask Narendra Modi about unemployment and jobs, he suddenly distracts attention. NRC and CAA are not going to get jobs, the situation in Kashmir and burning Assam are not going to get jobs for our youth,” Rahul said.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party has reacted strongly to Rahul drawing parallels between PM Modi and Godse. Speaking to a television channel, BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya said that Rahul is a repeat offender and has often resorted to such slanderous comments aimed at the Prime Minister. “It has been BJP’s stated position that we do not approve of any killing now and what happened then (Gandhi’s assassination). There is will never be any change in the party’s stand on Godse,” Malviya told India Today.
