JP Nadda says Rahul talks like urban Naxals, calls Congress 'power-hungry'

BJP national president and Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Saturday said the Congress is a "power hungry" party, it has no "Sanskar" and its leader Rahul Gandhi is speaking the language of urban naxals, which was unfortunate.

Addressing a gathering of the party workers on the occasion of inauguration of the newly built office of the BJP at Nahan, the district headquarter of Sirmour in Himachal Pradesh, Nadda said the BJP is not a political party merely to fight elections and rule the country but it is an "ideological establishment" that has a vision for the country.

Five generations have dedicated their lives to bring the BJP's ideology to the present "shining" level. Many heads of foreign countries and ambassadors came to the BJP headquarter at Delhi to enquire about the "ideological rise" of the biggest political party of the world, he said.

He said the Congress came into existence to fight for the country's freedom and after Independence, Mahatma Gandhi had suggested to disband the Congress, but its "power-greedy" leaders continued it as a political party to fulfil their "selfish motives".

"That's why today the Congress has no ideology to take the country further, it is a culture-less party," Nadda said and added, "The Congress is a power-hungry party, it has no 'sanskar' and its leader Rahul Gandhi is speaking the language of urban naxals and those who divide the country, which is unfortunate".

Nadda said the brother-sister duo (Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi) make "false noise" about inflation without taking into consideration the growth rate of the country which is 6.8 per cent, the highest in the world.

Nadda detailed the progress made by the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the past 10 years, saying India is number two in steel production, number three in automobile manufacturing and the Indian economy has jumped from the 11th to the 5th position in the last decade.

Taking a dig at the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, he said the Congress "cheated" the people of the state by making false election promises which were not fulfilled by the present government.

It is unfortunate that instead of fulfilling its 10 election guarantees, the state government is busy withdrawing facilities given to the people by the previous BJP government and has closed more than 900 institutions, including government offices and primary health centres, he alleged.

Asserting that the Modi government was providing full financial assistance to the Himachal government, he said, "Without the central assistance, the Himachal government cannot financially survive even for a day."

Nadda claimed the Himachal government employees and pensioners get their salaries and pensions after the Union government releases Rs 500 crore on the account of revenue deficit grant and Rs 800 crore as tax benefits to the state every month.

Nadda said that in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given a vision to the party that the BJP must have its own office in every district headquarter and the BJP's Nahan district office is the 563rd such office.

He said the BJP's membership campaign has crossed 7.50 crore and hoped that by the end of the campaign, the BJP will cross its target of making 12 crore members.