Lucknow: Congress president Rahul Gandhi began his first visit to Amethi after becoming party chief on Monday with a temple visit — a clear indication that the Congress will continue with its “soft Hindutva” agenda. Posters depicting him as Lord Rama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Ravana appeared in Amethi, which led to a major controversy.
Gandhi chose to visit the local Churwa Hanuman temple in Rae Bareli as BJP workers staged protests over his visit and clashed with Congress workers in Salon Assembly segment. The police had to intervene to restore order in the area.
In an informal speech later, Gandhi accused the BJP of lying continuously and also depriving Amethi of its development projects. He asked Congress workers to “expose the lies” of the BJP.
“Every Congress worker must tell the people about the lies of the BJP. They are also misleading the people of Amethi and we have to tell them about the development work done by us. In fact, the Modi government has tried to undo all that we did for Amethi. The government has taken away some of our projects.”
“It is time for change. The Congress will very soon form the government at the Centre,” said the Congress president.
In posters reportedly put up by Abhay Shukla, who claims to have no links with the Congress, Gandhi can be seen carrying a bow and arrow, pointing towards Modi. The inscription on the poster states: ‘Rahul ke roop mein Bhagwan Ram ka avatar, 2019 mein aayega Rahul Raj.’
Shukla told reporters: “Prime Minister Modi promised us to bring back black money stashed abroad, but nothing happened. All the promises made by him were lies. We believe that in 2019, Rahul Gandhi will become Prime Minister and fulfil all his promises.”
The district Congress in Amethi has strongly denied having anything to do with the controversial posters.
Another poster shows Rahul as Lord Krishna with the message: “Sangharsh se vijay ki ore chal diye maharathi (The warrior has begun the journey).”
Gandhi got a warm welcome in his constituency and was showered with rose petals all along his route.
