Ahead of the launch of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in Kanniyakumari by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday, Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai took a swipe at the former Congress president, saying the yatra will open his eyes to a self-reliant India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
In a series of tweets, Mr. Annamalai called Mr. Gandhi a ‘4G dynast’, and said the ‘Hamse Nahi Ho Payegha’ (Cannot be done by us) attitude that his family was deeply invested in was broken. “Today, India is on the path to becoming the World’s Vishwaguru!’” he claimed.
Mr. Annamalai claimed Mr. Gandhi was famous for ‘Bharat Chodo’ (leave India), and his yatra would open his eyes to the new India under Mr. Modi and the country’s transformation in the last eight years.
According to him, an American Express survey noted that 83% of MSMEs benefited from the Make in India programme, which Mr. Gandhi and his party had belittled. “From 8 startup unicorns in 2015, today India stands tall with over 103 unicorns. Request you to meet them during your yatra!” he tweeted.
Further, he said Mr. Gandhi would be ‘baffled’ over how, even in rural suburbs, digital money had become the norm and Direct Benefit Transfer had ensured that 100% of the amount intended for the beneficiaries reached them. He recalled that Mr. Gandhi’s late father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had pointed out in 1985 that for every rupee spent, only 15 paise reached the beneficiaries.
Mr. Annamalai said the Congress MP would be ‘awestruck’ by the fact that 24 types of farm produce are under MSP (minimum support price) today.
He claimed Mr. Modi had ensured that Mr. Gandhi would have a safe yatra, as 94.4 crore Indians had taken two doses of the COVID-19 vaccines; the length of the national highways had increased by 50% in the last eight years; and the number of districts reporting left-wing extremism had dropped from 70 in 2014 to 46 in 2021.
“We also request @RahulGandhi to nudge his UPA partners, especially the @arivalayam govt, to honour their poll promises by reducing the petrol & diesel rates. We also urge that you fill the tanks of the vehicles in your convoy in BJP-ruled states to save money!” he tweeted.
Several leaders of the Congress hit back at Mr. Annamalai. Congress MP Jothimani tweeted that Mr. Gandhi was “precisely taking up the yatra” to expose the lies, hate and divisive politics of the BJP. “No wonder @BJP4TamilNadu president is worried even before the yatra starts. Writing is on the wall,” she said.
Another MP, Manickam Tagore, responded to Mr. Annamalai’s ‘Bharat Chodo’ jibe by tweeting that “Bharat Chodo was by Mahatma Gandhi in which Sanghis never participated”.
