Bhubaneswar, 11 July (H.S.): Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday launched a scathing attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge over their participation in the 'Samvidhan Bachao' rally in Bhubaneswar, calling it nothing more than political tourism by the Congress “prince.”
In a post shared on social media, Pradhan dismissed the rally as an attempt to revive the political fortunes of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party, rather than a genuine movement to safeguard the Constitution.
“This was not a ‘Save the Constitution’ rally, but a ‘Save Rahul Gandhi and Congress’ gathering,” Pradhan wrote. He claimed that the unwavering public support for the pro-people BJP government in Odisha has unsettled the Congress, which, he said, has lost all relevance and ground in the state.
“The people of Odisha—especially the poor, Dalits, Adivasis, farmers, and labourers—had rejected the Congress decades ago. For Rahul Gandhi to now speak about their welfare is nothing but deception,” Pradhan stated.
He further alleged that the Congress has a long history of neglecting the rights of the underprivileged and misappropriating funds meant for the poor. “Under Congress rule, either middlemen siphoned off the money sent from Delhi, or the rightful share of SCs, STs, and OBCs was diverted to benefit a select vote bank,” he said.
Pradhan asserted that “the rights of the poor and the land of the Adivasis remain safe only when Congress is out of power.”
Referring to recent electoral defeats suffered by the Congress in states like Maharashtra and Haryana, Pradhan said the party is now blaming democratic institutions and the Election Commission for its failures. “It is ironic that the Congress, which once imposed Emergency and trampled the Constitution, is now preaching about saving it,” he remarked.
He also mocked Rahul Gandhi’s renewed allegations of vote tampering ahead of the Bihar elections, calling it a desperate ploy. “After repeated electoral defeats, Congress is once again crying foul about ‘vote theft’. But the people of Odisha, and the entire country, now clearly understand these political gimmicks,” he said.
Pradhan concluded his statement by asserting that the public will continue to give a strong democratic response to what he called “anti-people and anti-Constitution forces like the Congress” in every election.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda
