By Rajeev Khanna, IANS
Surat : Congress MP Rahul Gandhi Sunday accused the Gujarat government of telling lies and promised thousands who greeted him here that his party would provide an administration “which won’t be based on lies”.
The Congress MP got an overwhelming response from party workers and supporters who clamoured to welcome him with garlands of khadi, a tradition in Gujarat.
Rahul Gandhi, the son of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, promptly took on Chief Minister Narendra Modi saying the Gujarat government was hiding behind lies.
Addressing crowds in Surat, Rahul Gandhi claimed that Gujarat was lagging behind in investments compared to other states.
He said: “Gujarat had promised total literacy but still 30 percent people are illiterate. After elections, we will give you a new government, which won’t be based on lies.”
The Congress fielded the young Gandhi in a road show as its trump card to woo fence sitters on the final day of campaigning ahead of the first phase of the Gujarat assembly elections Tuesday.
Gandhi said that Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel, the two icons from Gujarat, had always stood and vouched for truth. “It is an irony that in their own state, the government is hiding behind lies.”
He said the Gujarat government believed in the theory that if a lie was told repeatedly, it becomes a truth.
The Congress had been keeping Rahul Gandhi as its crowd puller for a day when the campaign was to reach its peak. Right from the date of the announcement of the polls, the Congress has been making efforts to woo the young voters in the state and had projected Rahul Gandhi as the party’s youthful face.
There are posters and banners showing Gandhi’s pictures all over the state.
During his six-hour road show, Rahul is scheduled to address the crowds at 10 different places. Surat city is witnessing a keen electoral contest in its five seats.
Rahul’s visit comes a day after the visit of Sonia Gandhi to Mandovi in the adjoining tribal belt. Sonia had addressed a well-attended tribal rally Saturday morning.