The Surat court’s conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for defamation, leading to his disqualification as an MP, was over an April 13, 2019, speech made by him in Kolar, Karnataka, during the campaign for the coming Lok Sabha elections.
Here’s is his 4 year old speech:
“Elections are ahead of us, and it’s shaping to be a fight between two mindsets. On one side is the Congress that talks about bringing people together, progress, jobs; on the other, there are the BJP, RSS and Narendra Modi who, for 15-20 people, are ready to break the country and spread hatred.
Five years ago, when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, he made several promises: putting Rs 15 lakh in every account, giving jobs to 2 crore youths… After the elections, the BJP’s president said Rs 15 lakh (promise) was a jumla, a lie. And if you listen to Narendra Modi’s speeches now, there is no talk of employment, or farmers. Their manifesto too does not have a word on employment.
Five months ago, I thought that the promise of Rs 15 lakh may have been a lie for the BJP, but why don’t we fulfill it? The Chowkidaar lied, why don’t we take it upon ourselves to speak the truth? So, five months ago, I called the best economists in the Congress… and asked them how much the Congress party can offer the country’s poor. There was one condition, I said, we can’t destroy the economy, but you let me know within a year how much money Hindustan can give to its poorest of the poor. I don’t need a long speech, or theory, or a book, I said; I just need a number. You go, work on it, but give me a number before the polls. And the number you give me, that money I want to put in the back account of every poor person. It would be a historic decision… no government has taken such a decision.
A few days ago, the team returned and shared a number with me: in one year, Rs 72,000; in five years, Rs 3.6 lakh. Narendra Modi spoke of giving Rs 15 lakh in five years, which was a lie. We have zeroed in on the truth. Over five years, the Congress party will put in the bank accounts of 20 per cent of the country’s poorest Rs 3.6 lakh. Every year, the Congress party will transfer Rs 72,000 to five crore people directly into their bank accounts. And the money will go into the accounts of the women of the household. Narendra Modi, you keep lying; we will make sure promises turn out to be true.
And the moment we took this decision, Chowkidaar ka chehra badal gaya, sikudh gaya (the Chowkidaar got rattled, shaken). They ask, where will the money come from. Modiji, let me tell you, the money will come from the pocket of your friend, Anil Ambani. You talk of corruption, you have stolen 30,000 (crore rupees, in Rafale purchase) to give to that thief. You steal 100 per cent; 100 per cent Chowkidaar chor hai. Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya, Lalit Modi, Anil Ambani, Narendra Modi… choron ka group hai (they are a group of thieves)… They take money from your pockets, snatch money from farmers and small shopkeepers, and give it to the same 15 people.
They tell you they are fighting against black money, they make you stand in a line under the sun, they take money from your pockets to put in the bank, and then you come to realise that Nirav Modi stole your money and ran away. Rs 35,000 crore out of your pockets and into his… One small question, how are the names of all these thieves ‘Modi, Modi, Modi’… Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi, and if you search a little more, aur bahut saare Modi niklenge (many more Modis will emerge).
He did demonetisation, destroyed the lives of small shopkeepers, small and medium businessmen. Then he introduced Gabbar Singh Tax (GST), dealt another blow… Let a UPA government come. Within months, we will transform Gabbar Singh Tax to real GST. There will be one tax, minimum tax, simple tax. He talks of Mann ki Baat, we talk of kaam ki baat.
India now has the highest unemployment rate in 45 years. It’s Narendra Modiji who brought about this. And day after day, he makes promises in his speeches… wherever he goes. Modiji, you tell the country, what have you done to provide employment to the youth of the country in the past five years… Every 24 hours, 27,000 youths look for employment in the country. Don’t make excuses. You are the Prime Minister, you tell the country what you have done for employment in five years.
The Karnataka government (then led by a JDS-Congress coalition) waived off the debt of farmers. You tell the country how much debt of farmers you have waived off. You go around hugging Anil Ambani, why don’t you hug the farmer of this country? You click photos with Nirav Modi, why not with farmers? The Karnataka government gave thousands of crores of rupees to Karnataka farmers. And we have written clearly in the manifesto that India’s farmers will be protected. In 2019, the moment we win the elections, we will have a special budget for farmers. Along with the national budget, there will be a separate budget for farmers… At the start of the (financial) year itself, farmers will know what the government is planning to do for them… how much will the MSP be raised, what will the bonus be, how much money will be given, how many food processing units and storage facilities will be provided… The anxiety in your heart, we want to remove that.
There is another historical decision we have made for farmers in the manifesto. When people like Anil Ambani take loans from banks and don’t return the same, they don’t go to jail. Farmers read in the paper that Anil Ambani took Rs 45,000 crore of loans, did not return the same and is roaming freely. Mehul Choksi took Rs 45,000 crore and is roaming freely. So we have decided that once we form the government, no farmer will go to jail for not returning a loan. No farmer will have to face jail over a loan.
To the youths, I want to say, you trusted Narendra Modiji for five years… Make in India, Make in India, Make in India, you are tired of hearing all this… Now we will tell you the truth. Narendra Modi lied when he said he will give 2 crore jobs in a year… There are 22 lakh vacancies in government jobs. Within one year, the Congress will fill these 22 lakh posts. At the panchayat level, 10 lakh youths can be given jobs. The Congress party will ensure that. And I know that Karnataka is the hub of entrepreneurship. Narendra Modiji has destroyed small businesses with demonetisation and Gabbar Singh Tax. Any youth who wants to open a business has to take permission from multiple departments. Our manifesto clearly says that a Karnataka youth who wants to start a business will not have to take any permission… You start your business, once it starts running, once you have 20-40 people working with you, then in three years’ time, you can apply for permissions.
The keys to the bank that Narendra Modi has handed over to the likes of Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Anil Ambani, we will take away those keys from Anil Ambani and put them into the hands of Karnataka’s youths. Whoever creates jobs for Karnataka’s youths, we will give them bank loans.
I want to finish by talking about the women. The money to be shared under the Nyay Yojana will go into their bank accounts. Just think about it, Rs 72,000 coming into homes of 5 crore people every year. Narendra Modi put crores of money into the bank accounts of 15 people, we will enrich 25 crore people. But we want to do more for women, we will give them 33 per cent reservation in the Vidhan Sabha, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. At the national level, in government jobs too, they will get 33 per cent reservation.
Bhaiyo aur behnon, it’s a battle of mindsets. One one side, a mindset of hate and division of the country; on the other, a mindset of love, harmony and bringing the country together. The victory will be of the Congress and JD(S). This country is about love, not hate. This state is about love. You have been witness to Narendra Modiji’s false promises. Today, he doesn’t talk about either jobs, farmers, or corruption. We will not make false promises to you, and yet, we will set right the country’s economy. We will protect the farmers, and give jobs to the youths.
And next time that Narendra Modi comes here, ask him about Anil Ambani, ask him why he stole Rs 30,000 crore of IAF money and gave it to Anil Ambani. He talks about patriotism, patriots don’t steal. There’s a new slogan in the country. Earlier, it was, ‘Achche din‘, and people would reply ‘Aayenge‘. Now there is a new slogan, ‘Chowkidaar… chor hai, Chowkidaar… chor hai‘… This is the truth of Narendra Modi.
Thank you, namaste and Jai Hind!”
(The speech was delivered in Hindi, and simultaneously translated into Kannada by a Congress leader from the dais.)
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