Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Imphal on February 21

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on February 21 slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for pushing its agenda of “one nation, one language and one culture”.

Addressing an election rally in Imphal, Rahul Gandhi said that the Congress party stands against BJP’s “one nation, one language and one culture” ideology.

Gandhi said that Congress respects the states’ ideas, languages and culture while alleging that the BJP wants to impose uniformity in the country. “This idea of the saffron party will destroy the language and culture of a state,” he added.

“When BJP, RSS come to Manipur, they come without a sense of understanding. They come with a sense of superiority,” he added.

The Congress leader added that prime minister Narendra Modi is visiting Manipur only to cheat the people of the state, to suppress the democratic values of the state. “But the Congress always stands firm against the ideology of the BJP. For the Congress, it is very clear that language, culture and tradition of each state of the country should be respected,” he reiterated.

Rahul Gandhi further said that leaders of the Congress including him are coming not with the sense of superiority but with humanity. “That is the difference between us (Congress and BJP). I am here to learn to grow your ideas, culture, and language while BJP leader Narendra Modi is coming here with an air of superiority. He (Modi) comes to tell you what he thinks,” Gandhi said.

While taking a dig at the BJP government’s oil palm cultivation in Northeast states, including Manipur, Rahul Gandhi said that the intention of this project is not for development but at the behest of the big businessmen associated with the saffron party. He also said that introduction of oil palm cultivation will not be a boon for the farmers of the region. Besides, the project will destroy the ecosystem of the region, he added.

“On the other hand, Congress would like to give emphasis to horticulture and rice plantation in the region as the party is committed to making the state self-reliant in food production while protecting the ecosystem of the region,” Gandhi further added.

Manipur goes to polls in two phases on February 28 and March 5. Counting of votes will be done on March 10.

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Avatar photo
About TNM NewsDesk

-

The News Mill is a Guwahati-based digital media with focus on content from across Northeast India and beyond. We can be reached through [email protected]