People are feeling betrayed by PM Modi: Rahul Gandhi
Dhar (MP), Oct 30: Congress president Rahul Gandhi alleged on Tuesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "failed" to keep his electoral promise of ushering in "acche din" (good days) and people are feeling "betrayed" now.
Canvassing for the Congress in Dhar in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, Gandhi also accused the prime minister of helping only select industrialists while neglecting farmers, tribals and youth of the country.
Gandhi said the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wanted to create two types of Hindustan -- one for the rich and another for the poor.
"On the contrary, the Congress believes in one Hindusthan where if loan of rich people is waived similarly the debt of farmers will also be waived," he said.
The state BJP unit, however, said Gandhi was levelling "false and fabricated" allegations as the Modi government has done a lot for youth of the country by facilitating setting up of new factories and start-ups, while a number of schemes have been launched to help the poor and tribals.
In his speech, Gandhi said people of India, especially youths, had voted Modi to power by trusting him for the promises he had made.
The Congress chief began a two-day tour of the Malwa-Nimar region, a BJP stronghold, in the central Indian state, from Ujjain on Monday.
The Congress has been out of power in Madhya Pradesh since 2003 and is trying to make a comeback in the forthcoming assembly elections, scheduled to be held on November 28.
Gandhi said the Congress will waive loans of farmers in Madhya Pradesh within ten days if it is voted to power in the state.
"If new chief minister (of Congress) delays waiving loans of farmers even by one day (beyond the promised ten days), we will install a new chief minister," he said.
The Congress president also promised to set up food processing units near farms so that farmers could avail good price for their produce and their wards get employment.
Continuing his attack on the BJP government at the Centre, Gandhi said, "After coming to power, prime minister Narendra Modi failed to help tribals, youths, labourers and farmers, and instead helped only 10-15 industrialists like Anil Ambani, Nirav Modi, as a result of which people are feeling betrayed."
He said, "I wanted to ask you how many youths were given employment by Ambani and Nirav Modi. Life of how many farmers have they changed?"
While the BJP and the government have rejected these allegations, Gandhi has been accusing the Modi government of allowing liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is facing loan default cases, as well as businessmen Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi flee the country. Besides, he has been alleging undue benefits in the Rafale deal to Anil Ambani's Reliance group, which has rejected the charges.
Nirav Modi and Choksi are accused in the alleged multi-crore PNB fraud.
"While he (Modi) has given Rs 35,000-40,000 crore to industrialists then why couldn't he give the money to you and your children for their education? What wrong have you done? (for not getting the monetary aid)?" Gandhi asked.
"Earlier Modiji used to say 'acche din aayenge' (good days will come) but now people are saying 'chowkidar chor hai'. This is the state of affairs of the country in just four years," he said.
BJP have strongly reacted to similar allegations made by Gandhi in the past and has accused him of using abusive language for the prime minister.
Reacting to Gandhi's speech, the state BJP spokesman Rahul Kothari said these he was levelling "false and fabricated" allegations on performance of the Modi government.
"The Modi government has done a lot for youths of the country by establishing new factories and start-ups. These steps have started yielding results," he said.
"The government has launched schemes like the 'Prime Minister Housing Scheme' and the 'Ujjwala Yojana' (for providing LPG connections to women of BPL families) for the poor and tribals in a big way to help them," he said.
Kothari also countered Gandhi on the issue of development.
"Rahul Gandhi only talks about setting up mobile phone manufacturing factories in his speeches, but the Modi government has taken the number of such units from just two to 120 after coming to power," Kothari said.
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Ahmedabad plane crash: Six months on, college hostel lies in ruins, sans bustle of students
Ahmedabad (PTI): Six months after the AI-171 plane crash, the B J Medical College hostel complex in Ahmedabad stands as a haunting reminder, with its charred walls and burnt trees replacing the once lively chatter of students with an eerie stillness.
Scattered across the crash site are grim remnants of daily life - burnt cars and motorcycles, twisted beds and furniture, charred books, clothes and personal belongings.
The Atulyam-4 hostel building and the adjoining canteen complex stand abandoned, with entry strictly prohibited.
For residents near the site, memories of the incident still linger, casting a lasting shadow on their lives, with some of them saying they are still afraid to look up at the sky when an aircraft passes overhead.
On June 12, Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London, crashed moments after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 260 persons.
The aircraft slammed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex in Meghaninagar, turning a lively student neighbourhood into a landscape of ruin and grief.
"The area now lies very silent, only a few birds chirp here," Sanjaybhai, a security guard deployed at the premises by authorities to prevent trespassing, told PTI.
Mahendrasingh Jadeja, a general store owner whose shop is just 50 metres from the point where the aircraft struck, described it as an unimaginable calamity. "In all my years, I have never seen anything like this."
Pointing to a tree behind his shop, the 60-year-old said the aircraft first struck there before crashing into the hostel building.
"It was a scorching summer afternoon. Not many people were outside. When I heard a loud crashing sound, I ran out of my shop. We were all terrified," he recalled.
"Even today, we instinctively look up whenever a plane passes overhead," he added.
Another local, Manubhai Rajput, who lives barely 200 metres from the site, said he witnessed the horror unfold on June 12.
"The plane was flying unusually low. Before I could understand what was happening, there was thick black smoke and a deafening crash," he said.
For over three decades, Rajput and his neighbours lived close to the airport without giving much thought to the aircraft overhead.
"We never looked up at the sky. But that day is etched in my mind. The plane hit a tree first, and then there was a loud sound," he said.
Rajput recalled how hundreds of locals rushed to the site even before police, fire services or the Army arrived.
Tinaben, another resident of Meghaninagar, said she never imagined something like this could happen in Ahmedabad.
"Despite being close to the airport, this area always felt safe," she said.
As an aircraft roared overhead during the conversation, Tinaben paused, looked up nervously and said, "It's still scary."
A senior official of Civil Hospital Ahmedabad, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the state government has yet to decide what to do with the damaged site.
Currently, investigations are going on and the site is strictly prohibited for people, he added.
