Rahul Gandhi accuses BJP of centralising power, hails Cong-UDF civic poll performance in Kerala

Kochi, Jan 19 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the RSS and the BJP of attempting to centralise power, while asserting that his party believes in decentralisation and strengthening grassroots democracy.

Speaking at a Mahapanchayat of newly elected Congress local body members here, he said the grand old party brought the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments to empower the three-tier Panchayati Raj system.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha also alleged that the NDA government was "attacking" the MGNREGA because it was implemented through local self-government institutions.

He stressed that protecting the Constitution also meant protecting decentralised governance at the grassroots level.

The basic principle of democracy was that votes are the voice of citizens and that this voice must be protected, he added.

Drawing a contrast, Gandhi said the BJP and RSS stood for centralisation, while the Congress stood for decentralisation. "They want compliance from people for India, not the voice of the people of India," he said.

Referring to his interaction with veteran Malayalam writer M Leelavathy at an award function, Gandhi said the 98-year-old author talked about "culture of silence".

Accusing the BJP and RSS, he alleged that their ideological attack was aimed at enforcing silence.

"They want India to be silent. They do not want India to express itself. They want to deliver the wealth of this country to a few business houses," he said, adding that silencing people was necessary to concentrate the nation’s assets in the hands of a select few.

However, Gandhi asserted with certainty that the people of Kerala could not be silenced and would speak out through elections.

He also congratulated Congress workers and the United Democratic Front (UDF) for what he described as a strong performance in the local body elections in Kerala, especially at the panchayat level, the third tier of democracy.

He said the Congress and UDF delivered a superb performance at all levels of local self-government and expressed happiness over the results in panchayats.

Gandhi said that while there were differences of opinion among senior leaders during discussions in Delhi, he was confident that the Congress would win the local body and Assembly elections.

He added that the bigger question before the Congress and UDF leadership was what they would do after winning.

"There is a huge unemployment problem in the state, and the UDF and Congress have to provide answers to it," he said, expressing confidence that the leadership had the ability to understand people’s needs and deliver.

Gandhi said that for any government to succeed, it must be close to the people and merge with them.

He said he was confident that the Congress and UDF leadership would remain humble and connected to the masses.

Calling the present phase an ideological and political battle, Gandhi said it was an honour for him to serve as a Member of Parliament from Kerala earlier.

He said he had learnt a great deal from the state, including its history, traditions, language and political depth, and above all, its ability to stand together despite diversity.

He said he felt pain at seeing thousands of Keralites go abroad due to unemployment, even as he felt pride at seeing professionals, including nurses, from the state working across the world.

"We need to free people so that what they do abroad can also be done here," he said.

Recalling his sister Priyanka Gandhi's decision to contest from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, Gandhi said he had advised his sister that it was an emotional choice, adding that she has since learnt new things from Kerala’s society and political culture.

Praising Kerala’s natural beauty, cultural diversity, religious harmony and strong political culture, Gandhi said that Kerala has a superb political culture and that grassroots leaders truly emerge from democratic processes.

"I don’t think there is any panchayat president anywhere else like in Kerala," he said.

He said this trust placed by the people was the most important thing and must be protected.

Gandhi said people must realise the importance of safeguarding the Constitution of India, adding that Kerala would not allow a culture of silence to prevail. "You (people) will not allow the culture of silence," he asserted.

Answering questions from select participants at the event, Gandhi said the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was designed by the UPA government to ensure a minimum wage for the poorest people in the country.

"It transformed the lives of millions of people, and that programme is now being destroyed. The central government does not want to pay a minimum wage to the labourers of India. That is why they are attacking MGNREGA," he said.

According to Gandhi, another reason for targeting the scheme was that it functioned at the third tier of governance.

"They do not want to give financial power and decision-making authority to the third tier of governance. They want to run the government from bureaucratic offices and from Delhi," he alleged.

He said MGNREGA was created both to protect the interests of India’s poorest people and to strengthen local self-governments by empowering grassroots institutions.

"This is why they are attacking MGNREGA. The Prime Minister himself ridiculed the scheme in the Lok Sabha. But when Covid happened, MGNREGA saved our people," Gandhi said. PTI TBA TBA KH