Vadodara: Congress's Vadodara city unit president Narendra Rawat on Thursday criticised BJP's prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi for the latter's statement that the Congress changed its Vadodara candidate because he is a Dalit.
BJP's PM candidate Narendra Modi. AFP
Modi had made the statement on Wednesday while addressing a rally in East Delhi, which has a significant number of Dalit voters. Modi had alleged that the Congress replaced Rawat as its Vadodara candidate since he is a Dalit.
In a statement released on Thursday, Rawat came down heavily upon Modi for misusing his name for false propaganda and misguiding Dalits, pointing out that when the Vadodara seat is a general seat, there is hardly any question of injustice being meted out to Dalits.
"I had won the primaries to become the party candidate and withdrew from the contest on my own. I pleaded with the party high command including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Ahmed Patel to field another powerful candidate in my place, who can ensure Modi's defeat in the election," he said.
"Because I felt that the party needed a seasoned and experienced candidate to take on Modi, while it was a new experiment for me to contest Lok Sabha polls," Rawat said.
Modi had stated that Rawat withdrew his candidature on Tuesday, making way for Congress general secretary Madhusudan Mistry to contest from Vadodara, adding that Rahul Gandhi's brainchild (primaries) had died prematurely.
"This incident of exerting pressure on a Dalit candidate to give up his ticket he had secured by fighting it out in the party primaries is proof that the Congress does not believe in democracy. I want to ask if being a Dalit has become a crime. Shehzade ko Dalit ke saath hue atyachaar ka jawaab dena hoga (The prince would have to answer for the atrocity committed on a Dalit)," Modi had said, addressing a rally for all seven BJP candidates in Delhi.
Rawat questioned Modi about the condition of Dalits in Gujarat.
"What are the conditions of Dalits in Gujarat and what steps have Modi taken for the development of the Dalit community. What did he do when two Dalits were killed in Saurashtra more than a year ago. There has been no progress in the investigation so far," Rawat said.
Rawat also said that the incident of a Dalit girl's gangrape in Patan took place during Modi's tenure. "So Modi should not talk about injustice done to a Dalit candidate. On the contrary, it was members of all communities in the Congress who had helped me win the Congress primaries," he said.
For wooing the Dalit community, Modi has been making such irrelevant and irresponsible statements, Rawat alleged.
"All 25 ward committees of the Congress party in Vadodara city and the Vadodara city unit of the Congress party adopted a unanimous resolution welcoming Madhusudan Mistry's candidature from the seat. Congress workers are determined to defeat BJP candidate Modi this time, because the city continues to be neglected after BJP candidates were elected from the Vadodara seat since 1998," Rawat said.
PTI
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