BJP only indulges in communal politics, says Rahul

The BJP "only knows how to spread hatred and violence", said Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi here on Saturday while on a road show ahead of state polls next year.

He visited Muslim-dominated Barpeta district and appealed to the people to vote for the ruling Congress once again in the polls for the sake of development and peace.

He arrived in the Assam capital on Friday on a two-day visit and took a chopper ride to Barpeta district in the morning.

Thousands of people gathered on both sides of the road to see him and interact with him. Later, he addressed a public rally in the district.

"The BJP only knows how to spread hatred and violence. (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi knows how to make people fight against each other and then play politics over it," he said.

"Modiji came to Assam about a year back and made many tall promises like he will bring back black money from the foreign banks and deposit at least Rs.15 lakh in the bank accounts of each Indian. However, now he has forgotten all the promises," he said, launching a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Referring to the recent Bihar elections, he said: "Modiji also went to Bihar and promised lots of things. He held around 25 to 30 meetings in Bihar. The people of the state saw him and listened to him but refused to vote for the party due to its communal agenda."

"About 15 years back there was unrest in Assam. However, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi led Congress government has brought back peace to the state," he said.

He said that the former UPA government at the centre brought the MNREGA so that poor people of the country can be helped.

"The UPA government waived loan burden to the tune of Rs.70,000 crore for the farmers. However, when Modiji came, he tried to end the MNREGA. The special category status of states like Assam has been withdrawn," he added. - IANS