Rahul Gandhi appeals to vote for ‘hand’ symbol to form ‘Hindustaniyon ki sarkar’

NEW DELHI: Ahead of the second phase of Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appealed to the voters to support the Congress and vote for the ‘hand’ symbol to form a ‘government of the Indians’.

In a video message shared on his official ‘X’ handle, Gandhi said that this election is meant to protect the Constitution and democracy while urging the citizens to “fulfil their duty towards democracy”.

“This election is an election to save democracy and principles. On one side, BJP and RSS are trying to destroy democracy and the constitution. And on the other side, Congress party and INDI alliance are making efforts to protect the constitution and democracy”, Rahul Gandhi said.

“We walked on foot from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, about 4000 kilometres; we also walked from Manipur to Maharashtra. We interacted with you, we listened to what you had to say and then made a revolutionary manifesto. This is your manifesto. Congress party created it but it is yours”, he said.

Highlighting the Congress party’s ‘revolutionary’ manifesto, Gandhi vowed to make crores of women and youth ‘lakhpatis’ and also waive off farmers’ loans.

“We have given you five guranatees. Narendra Modi ji made about 22-25 millionaires, while we will make crores of women and youth ‘lakhpatis’. Farmers are guaranteed legal MSP (Minimum Support Price) and their loans will be waived off. The minimum wage for labourers will be set at Rs 400. This manifesto is meant to change the country. This is a revolutionary manifesto. Support the Congress party, protect the Constitution by pressing the ‘hand’ symbol”, the Congress leader said.

Earlier in the day, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to give a communal angle to the grand old party’s manifesto.

“The BJP is in trouble. The PM is baffled. Since April 19, he has been trying to take the whole agenda in a different direction. He tried to give a communal angle to our manifesto, after which he raised some issues that are not in our manifesto. He is publicising our manifesto during his election rallies. Even though this publicity is wrong and is based on lies, this is the first time that the PM is publicising the opposition’s manifesto”, he said.

The Congress party’s election manifesto, released on April 5 in the run-up to the parliamentary elections, focuses on ‘Paanch Nyay’ or the five pillars of justice, including ‘Yuva Nyay’, ‘Naari Nyay’, ‘Kisaan Nyay’, ‘Shramik Nyay’ and ‘Hissedari Nyay’ among others.

Putting to rest farmer’s longstanding demand, the Congress said that it will give a legal guarantee to the MSP announced by the government every year, as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission. The voting for 89 seats across 13 states will be held in the second phase on April 26. The first phase of voting in 102 constituencies across 21 states and UTs was held on April 19.

Five seats in Assam and Bihar, three in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, 14 in Karnataka, 20 in Kerala, seven in Madhya Pradesh, eight in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, 13 in Rajasthan and one each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir will be voting in the second phase. The results will be announced on June 4. (ANI)