Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi launched a frontal attack on PM Narendra Modi while addressing an election rally at Nanded in Maharashtra on Thursday, accusing him of not visiting the violence-affected North Eastern state of Manipur for one and a half years.

“Wherever Modi goes, he spreads hate. Even today the Prime Minister of India has not gone to Manipur which has been burning for one and a half years. It has never happened in India’s history. He makes one community fight the other but ensures that only some people make money. Adani’s and Ambani’s wealth is only increasing. Airports were given away, ports were given away and now Dharavi’s land which is worth Rs 1 lakh crore, is being given away. The loss is borne by soybean farmers, workers and unemployed youth. It is all happening right before your eyes,” he charged.

He spoke about the need for a caste census and said, “We will conduct a caste census at the national level and at the state level. I had asked the PM in Parliament, why is he not conducting a caste census? There is a 15 per cent Dalit population in India. Adivasis are 8 per cent of the population. OBCs are at least 50 per cent of the total population of India and then there are 15 per cent of minorities. But nobody knows what the population of OBCs is in terms of actual numbers. We can estimate that OBCs are at least 50 per cent of the population, but in reality, nobody really knows the exact figure. That is why we need a caste census”.

Earlier during the day, addressing an election rally at the Adivasi-dominated Nandurbar assembly constitution in the state, Rahul Gandhi said that “This election is a clash of ideologies”. “Please remember that the real fight is to save the Constitution of India. That’s because whatever you have received, whether it is land, forest, water, MNREGA, Right To Food and everything else, comes from the Constitution,” he said.

“The INDIA alliance says that the country must be run according to the Constitution. Modi says, I wave the Constitution at public meetings. He says that the Constitution is hollow and that is because he has never read it in his life. He says that Rahul Gandhi waves a red colour Constitution. We are not bothered about what is the colour of this book’s cover page, but we are willing to defend whatever is written in the Constitution, with our lives” Gandhi said.

“We bowed before Birsa Munda’s photograph today. Are the thoughts of Birsa Munda not there in this Constitution? Modi says that this Constitution is empty and hollow. Dear Modi, please listen, this Constitution is not hollow. This Constitution contains the thoughts of Birsa Munda, Phule, Dr Amkedkar and Mahatma Gandhi. So this Constitution is not hollow, but it is the very soul of India. So whenever you say that the Constitution is empty or hollow, it is an insult to Birsa Munda, the Buddha, Phule, Dr Babasaheb Amkedkar and Mahatma Gandhi. Our fight is to save this Constitution,” he said.

Gandhi also stated that the Constitution has used the word Adivasi and not “Vanvasi”, which is a term used by the RSS and the BJP. “The Constitution does not call you Adivasis, but the BJP, the RSS and Modi call you Vanvasis. There is a big difference between these two words. Adivasi means the ones who were the first masters of this country who have the first right over its land,” he said.

“Vanvasis means that you are forest dwellers and hence you have no rights over the land or water. They take away your rights and your forests. After that, they go about snatching away your lands and chopping down your forests. Who enacted the The Forest Rights Act and the Tribal Rights Act? It is the Congress which did it and ensured that Adivasis have rights over their forest land and water. But when the BJP comes to power, your forests, land and water are handed over to billionaires,” he added.

He went on to state that there is a difference between the terms “Vanvasi” and Adivasi. “Vanvasi means your children will never get educated. Vanvasi means your children will never become engineers, doctors, lawyers, pilots or businessmen. Whereas Adivasi means that your children will become doctors, engineers, lawyers and run this country,” he said.

Gandhi said that Adivasis are 8 per cent of India’s population. “If Adivasis are 8 per cent of this country’s population, how much should their representation be in all areas? It must be 8 per cent, right? However, only 90 bureaucrats run this country. How many decisions are taken by Adivasi officials? If a government decision to spend Rs 100 is taken, an Adivasi official gets to take decisions only worth 10 paise. Out of 90 officials, only one official is an Adivasi and he is told to sit somewhere behind. Show me one TV anchor who is a Dalit or an Adivasi. Show me one Adivasi in Adani’s company or Ambani’s company. Take the list of MNREGA and you will find a lot of Adivasis,” he asked.

He stated that the fact is that Adivasis, Dalits and OBCs do not get represented in all areas and decision making processes. “My aim is to ensure that they get represented in all areas of decision making, government and businesses,” he said.

He charged that Modi has given away Dharavi land worth Rs 1 lakh crore to Adani and waived off the loans of billionaires. “What did he give to Adivasis, Dalits, farmers, workers and women? Nothing at all. Therefore, the Congress has decided that whatever amount the BJP has waived off for the billionaires, we will waive off for you,” Gandhi declared.

He said that the first thing the Congress-backed MVA government will implement in Maharashtra is the Mahalakshmi Yojana. “At the beginning of every month, Rs 3000 will be deposited in the bank accounts of every woman. Bus tickets will be free for women anywhere in Maharashtra. No woman will need to purchase a bus ticket”.

He also said that farmers’ debts of upto Rs 3 lakh will be waived off. “Whenever you sell foodgrain, soybean and cotton, the Congress government will give you the Minimum Support Price (MSP),” Gandhi said.

“I have already spoken about the caste census. We will implement the caste census in Maharashtra and find out how many Dalits and Adivasis are represented in the government. The Congress will remove the 50 per cent limit on reservation,” he said.

Gandhi said that the biggest problem of the poor is medical treatment. “The poor cannot afford medical treatment and farmers drown in debt. They commit suicide. So, the Congress government will ensure medical insurance worth Rs 25 lakh. If you get cancer or any disease, you will be able to get upto Rs 25 lakh worth of medical treatment free of cost,” he said.

He further said that unemployed youth in Maharashtra will get Rs 4000 every month, until they get a job. “The 2.5 lakh government vacant government posts which the Modi government is not filling up, the Congress will fill up with Adivasis, Dalits, OBCs and economically backward general caste candidates,” Gandhi said.

He also did not miss the opportunity to elaborate about how employment generating industrial projects were taken from Maharashtra to Gujarat. “The Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor plant which would have generated 10,000 jobs was diverted from Maharashtra to Gujarat. The Tata-Airbus manufacturing plant, which would have generated 10,000 jobs was sent to Gujarat. The iPhone plant was taken from Maharashtra and sent to Gujarat.

The pharma park went to Gujarat. The GAIL petrochemical project was taken from Maharashtra and sent to Gujarat. If the total number of jobs are calculated, then the BJP government took away 5 lakh jobs from Maharashtra. We don’t want projects from Maharashtra to go to other states,” he said firmly.