Maha Congress resolves to stand behind Rahul, ‘expose real face’ of BJP

File Photo/PTI

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Monday said that the action against Rahul Gandhi, and the speed with which it was taken to make him homeless (through the eviction notice), shows the intention was to crush his voice.

"It is well known that the BJP government took action against Rahul Gandhi out of political vendetta. If you look at the sequence of events behind this, it all becomes very clear. The BJP's attempts to disqualify Rahul Gandhi started long ago and so an old and fake case was dug up and action was taken. There are no democratic systems and Constitution left in the country," he added.

Patole further said that the people's support to the Congress party is on the rise which will benefit the party. "A resolution to expose the real face of BJP in front of the people has been made in today's state executive meeting," he added.

The Maharashtra Congress passed a resolution condemning Rahul Gandhi's disqualification as an MP and claimed he was targeted because he questioned relations between Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought to know the source of Rs 20,000 crore coming into Adani Group.

This resolution extending support to Gandhi was passed at the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee's (MPCC) extended working committee meeting held at Ram Ganesh Gadkari Rangayatan in Thane city.

"The Congress stands firmly with Rahul Gandhi. He faced the action (disqualification as LS member) because he questioned relations between PM Modi and (Gautam) Adani and also sought to know the source of Rs 20,000 crore (in Adani group)," one of the resolutions passed at the meeting stated.

Legislature party leader Balasaheb Thorat said that the upcoming elections in the state are very important.

"Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi became historic. In this, burning issues were raised. Then Rahul Gandhi raised the question about the relationship between Modi-Adani in Parliament. But after that, the Modi government did not allow Rahul Gandhi to speak in the Parliament. The BJP is afraid of the growing popularity of Rahul Gandhi and so he is being silenced. We must reach out to the public and tell them about the injustice done to Rahul Gandhi. The Congress is seeing good days, the party will have its golden days again," he said.

Former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said the Modi government took action against Rahul Gandhi as soon as he raised questions about the connection between Modi and Adani.

"This question is not only Rahul Gandhi's but everyone who speaks against the government. Looking at the current situation in the country, it is not wrong to say that the BJP government has killed democracy. Look carefully at the sequence of events behind Rahul Gandhi's conviction, it all seems to be a deliberate, well-intentioned conspiracy," Chavan added.

He further said that arbitrary governance has been going on since the arrival of the Shinde government in the state. "This government only makes slogans and spends crores of rupees on it. The Shinde government is an unconscious government. There was a unseasonal hailstorm in certain parts of the state and instead of helping the farmers, the Chief Minister and the cabinet ministers from the Shinde government went to Ayodhya. What kind of Ramrajya is this?" asked Chavan.

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Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan took a dig at PM Modi and BJP and said that only thieves are being targeted and Adani was targeted by the Hindenburg report. "The Hindenburg report has exposed the scandal in Adani's companies, the second richest man in the world. The Hindenburg Report exposed the world to the fact that people were duped by artificially raising share prices. Adani could not respond to Hindenburg's report, nor could he take legal action against him. Rs 9 lakh crores of Adani went down the drain. The Hindenburg report got justice in the people's court. Hindenburg targets fraud companies and brings out the truth. Rahul Gandhi exposed the truth of Modi-Adani to the world. Rahulji was not allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha. Never in history has a ruling party stalled the proceedings of the Lok Sabha, it happened during Modi's tenure. All attempts were made to disqualify Rahulji only to silence his voice. Where did Adani's companies get Rs 20,000 crore from? The JPC is a weapon in the hands of the Parliament to find out the truth, it must be used," he said.

Chavan reminded NCP chief Sharad Pawar that a joint parliamentary committee under him in 2003, when he was a prominent opposition leader, had framed norms for safe drinking water which were stricter than similar rules in the US.

Addressing the meeting of Congress Party workers, Chavan said that Pawar might have made the statement on JPC at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"In 2003, a joint parliamentary committee was formed under the chairmanship of Sharad Pawar and I was a member of that panel. It was formed because pesticide residues were found in drinking water. Our recommendations helped in regulating the industry and because of it, people are getting clean water for drinking. Our norms are stricter than that of the US. A JPC can do a good job, hence we are asking for a JPC on the Adani group," the former Maharashtra chief minister said.

The Maharashtra Congress proposed seven resolutions in the executive meeting which were approved. The MPCC also resolved to set up OBC (Other Backward Classes) ministry and said a hefty financial provision will be made for the welfare of backward classes if Congress comes to power.

The Congress questioned why a caste-wise census is not conducted and referred to a resolution passed in this regard in its OBC national executive.

The party also discussed the "rising graph" of suicides of farmers in Maharashtra. "Farmers in the state are in trouble, when they are in need of help, the Shinde government is not helping them. The government is offering meager assistance, substantial help should be given to the farmer," the Congress said.

The Congress alleged a conspiracy to spread social unrest in the country and appealed to people to not fall prey to it.

The party claimed the Shinde government was ignoring freedom fighters who had participated in the liberation of the Marathwada region from the Nizam rule. "A committee was formed by the erstwhile MVA government to revive memories of the Marathwada liberation struggle but the Shinde government is ignoring it," the Congress said.

A committee has been formed by Congress to honour every freedom fighter from Marathwada, it said.

The Congress further said that 32 lakh children in the state are preparing for competitive exams, but the Shinde government is outsourcing government jobs. "All these recruitments will be done after the Congress government returns to power," it said.