Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the people 'tried' the BJP leader but his government 'got punctured'. Wardha: Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of following divisive politics and making false promises, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the people "tried" the BJP leader but his government "got punctured" and it was time to trust the Congress to take India forward. The Congress president invoked Mahatma Gandhi's ideals of adherence to truth and communal harmony to hit out at the Modi government and alleged the prime minister was fighting against the same ideals for which the Father of the Nation sacrificed all his life and took three bullets. Addressing a rally in Wardha to kick off the Congress' programmes in the 150th birth anniversary year of the Father of the Nation, Rahul Gandhi also targeted the Modi government over the Rafale fighter jet deal and on issues related to defaulter businessmen Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. "The thieves of India, with the help of Narendra Modi, turned lakhs, crores of black money into white. Modiji took money out of your pockets and put it in the pockets of (fugitive businessmen) Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya," he said. "You tried Modiji (gave a chance to him). The vehicle (the Modi government) failed, got punctured, its engine exploded, it did not work. He broke your trust...now you trust the Congress, the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi to take India forward," Rahul Gandhi said at Wardha in Maharashtra, where Mahatma Gandhi's Sevagram Ashram is located. The Congress chief also led a march, covering a part of the four-kilometre distance in his vehicle and the rest on foot, to mark Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary and to give a message against what the party called the "atmosphere of fear" in the country. Senior party leaders KC Venugopal, RPN Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Jyotiraditya Scindia, state unit president Ashok Chavan, Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and others joined Rahul Gandhi, as he began the march after garlanding a statue of the Father of the Nation near the district collector's office. Rahul Gandhi was greeted by thousands of people who waved at him and jostled with each other to catch a glimpse of the Congress leader. People as well as Congress workers lined up both sides of the road, giving some tough moments to Gandhi's security personnel. Wardha district has traditionally been a bastion of the Congress. The party leadership was in Sevagram village, located around 10 km from Wardha district headquarters, to attend the meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Tuesday. The Congress is seeking return to power at the Centre and also in Maharashtra following its drubbing at the hands of the BJP in last polls. On soaring fuel prices, the Congress chief accused Modi of taking money from the pockets of the common people and putting it in the pockets of "15-20 richest" individuals. "The chowkidar (watchman) is doing it and doing it for them (the rich). He (Modi) is not a chowkidar, but bhagidar (partner in crime)," he alleged. Reacting to his charges, the BJP said the Congress leader was a "tape recorder of lies" and his party's fortunes will go down as swiftly as he resorts to "falsehoods" to target the Modi government. Rahul Gandhi accused Modi of insulting Mahatma Gandhi and every citizen of the country by stating in his Independence Day speech that "nothing had happened in India" before he became the prime minister. "Gandhiji talked about uniting the country. Modiji talks about breaking up the people of the country," the Congress chief said. He alleged the prime minister pitched one religion against another, one community against another and spread hatred among people. "Gandhiji insisted on speaking the truth...I want to ask you, when Modiji made the promise of depositing Rs 15 lakh in the account of every person, was he speaking the truth or did he lie?" he asked the crowd. The Congress leader alleged Modi also "lied" by promising to create two crore jobs every year and giving a fair price for farm produce. "When I asked Modiji about the Rafale deal (in Parliament), Modiji avoided eye contact. He would look here and there, up and down. But Modiji could not speak by looking the nation in the eye, because he was lying," the Congress chief alleged. The Congress chief also accused the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of writing off loans worth Rs 3.20 lakh crore of "15-20 richest people", but not granting loan waiver to farmers. He promised that his party would waive farm loans if it was elected to power. On demonetisation, Rahul Gandhi said, "all the friends" of the prime minister entered the banks "through the back door" and turned their black money into white, while the common people lined up outside the banks to deposit the scrapped currency. "The thieves of India, with the help of Narendra Modi, turned lakhs, crores of black money into white. Modiji took money out of your pockets and put it in the pockets of (fugitive businessmen) Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya," he said. On the soaring fuel prices, the Congress chief accused Modi of taking money from the pockets of the common people and putting it in the pockets of "15-20 richest" individuals. "The chowkidar (watchman) is doing it and doing it for them (the rich). He (Modi) is not a chowkidar, but bhagidar (partner in crime)," he alleged.<doc-sep>Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi in Nagpur ahead of their visit to Wardha for CWC meeting The Congress will hold its working committee meeting in Wardha today to mark the beginning of Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary celebrations, and give a message against the "atmosphere of fear, hate and violence" prevailing in the country, the party has said. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will be at the Sevagram Ashram in Wardha for the meeting and the party will take Mahatma Gandhi's message all over the country, a party leader said. There will be a prayer meeting, a 'shanti' (peace) march, and a public meeting at the Sevagram Ashram in which Rahul Gandhi will give his message, he said, adding that holding the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Wardha has a lot of symbolism attached to it. "The preliminary deliberations of Individual Satyagraha were held in Sevagram in 1940. The CWC met in Sevagram and adopted the resolution on Quit India movement on July 14, 1942," he said. The Quit India movement was launched in Mumbai on August 8, 1942. "A meeting was held in Sevagram from March 12 to 14, 1948, with the subject 'Gandhi has gone: who will guide us now', and among those who attended the meeting included the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Vinoba Bhave and Jaiprakash Narayan," he said. When Mahatma Gandhi started his padayatra in 1930 from the Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, he had decided not to return to Sabarmati till India was free, the leader recalled. "Gandhiji was jailed for more than two years and on his release, he spent time travelling considerably in central India. He came to Wardha in 1934 at the invitation of businessman and philanthropist Jamnalal Bajaj," he said. In April 1936, Mahatma Gandhi established his residence in the Shegaon village near Wardha and he renamed it as Sevagram, which means 'village of service'.<doc-sep>#WATCH: Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi wash their plates after lunch in Sevagram (Bapu Kuti) in Wardha. #Maharashtra https://t.co/hzC3AGe7kj — ANI (@ANI) 1538472226000 NEW DELHI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi were seen washing their plates after having lunch at Sevagram in Maharashtra's Wardha on Tuesday.In the video shared by news agency ANI, the Congress leaders can be seen scrubbing their utensils clean.The Congress leaders held a prayer meeting to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary.Earlier, Rahul Gandhi led a foot march to mark the start of Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary celebrations and to give a message against what the party called the "atmosphere of fear" in the country.Rahul Gandhi walked for around 50 minutes before reaching the rally venue, a Congress leader said.The party leadership had converged at the Sevagram village, located around 10 km from Wardha district headquarters, to attend the meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision-making body of the party.This was the second CWC meeting to be held at Sevagram after more than 75 years. The first one was convened in 1942 under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi to adopt the 'Quit India' resolution. (With agency inputs)<doc-sep>Congress President Rahul Gandhi with former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and others at Sevagram Ashram in Wardha. (PTI Photo) Congress President Rahul Gandhi with former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and others at Sevagram Ashram in Wardha. (PTI Photo) Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday urged people “to lay their faith in the Congress and Gandhi’s ideals after failing to redeem the faith they had put in (PM) Narendra Modi’s hollow promises”. Addressing a gathering at the Circus Ground in Wardha after presiding over the CWC meeting at Sevagram and then undertaking a padyatra of 3 km, Rahul said, “Modi speaks his mind in Mann Ki Baat. We want to listen to thoughts in your mind. Let us know what you expect of us. You tried Modiji, but his vehicle got punctured. Now have faith in us.” He added, “Modi had said he would deposit Rs 15 lakh in your accounts. Did he do that? Now he invokes Gandhi’s name but is not speaking truth.” Reiterating the allegations against the Modi government on the Rafale deal, Rahul said, “Anil Ambani’s inexperienced company, which has a debt of over Rs 40,000 crore, was favoured in the deal at the cost of the experienced Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. This Rs 40,000 crore is public money deposited in our banks. But the Modi government refuses to give loan waiver to farmers. We will give you that.” “Modi also promised 2 crore jobs per year to youths. Did he do that? We will work day and night to give you jobs,” he added.<doc-sep>
Wardha: Invoking Mahatma Gandhi's ideals of adherence to truth and communal harmony, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of dividing the country and making false promises. Addressing a rally here to kick off the Congress's programmes in the 150th birth anniversary year of the father of the nation, Rahul Gandhi once again targeted Modi over the Rafale fighter jet deal. "Every day the prime minister fights against those things (ideals) for which (Mahatma) Gandhi sacrificed all his life, took three bullets. Gandhiji talked about uniting the country. Modiji talks about breaking up the people of the country," the Congress chief said at Wardha in Maharashtra, where Mahatma Gandhi's Sevagram Ashram is located. "You tried Modiji (gave a chance to him). The vehicle (the Modi government) failed, got punctured, its engine exploded, it did not work. He broke your trust...now you trust the Congress and the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi to take India forward," Rahul Gandhi said. The prime minister pitched one religion against another, one community against another and spread hatred among people, Rahul Gandhi alleged. "Gandhiji insisted on (always) speaking the truth...I want to ask you, when Modiji made the promise of depositing Rs 15 lakh in the account of every person, was he speaking the truth or did he lie?" he asked the crowd. Modi "lied" by promising to create two crore jobs every year and giving a fair price for farm produce, the Congress chief alleged. He asked the prime minister to explain why the offset contract in the Rafale deal was awarded to Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence, "snatching" it from the State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). "Modi's friend" Ambani was given the contract, despite his firm not having manufactured a "single aircraft" and carrying a debt of Rs 45,000 crore, Rahul Gandhi alleged. He also referred to former France president Francois Hollande's remarks that his government had no say in choosing Ambani's company in the Rafale deal. "When I asked Modiji about the Rafale deal (in Parliament), Modiji avoided eye contact. He would look here and there, up and down. But Modiji could not speak by looking the nation in the eye, because he was lying," the Congress chief alleged. Ambani has denied Rahul Gandhi's allegations over the Rafale deal. The Congress chief also accused the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of writing off loans worth Rs 3.20 lakh crore of "15-20 richest people", but not granting loan waiver to farmers. He promised that his party would waive farm loans if it was elected to power. On demonetisation, Rahul Gandhi said, "all the friends" of the prime minister entered the banks "through the back door" and turned their black money into white, while the common people lined up outside the banks to deposit the scrapped currency. "The thieves of India, with the help of Narendra Modi, turned lakhs, crores of black money into white. Modiji took money out of your pockets and put it in the pockets of (fugitive businessmen) Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya," he said. On the soaring fuel prices, the Congress chief accused Modi of taking money from the pockets of the common people and putting it in the pockets of "15-20 richest" individuals. "The chowkidar (watchman) is doing it and doing it for them (the rich). He (Modi) is not a chowkidar, but bhagidar (partner in crime)," he alleged. By stating in his August 15 address that "nothing had happened in India" before he became the prime minister, Modi had insulted "Gandhiji, every citizen of the country, every farmer, every mother and sister...," he added.