Amritsar, May 11 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today shared the stage for the first time with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a poll rally here, describing him as the “pride of Punjab and the country” who had taken India forward in all spheres.
“Manmohan Singh is pride of Punjab and India,” Rahul, who is on his third visit to the state during the current Lok Sabha elections, said.
He said the UPA government will always stand for the “aam admi” unlike the NDA, which during its tenure, ignored various sections of society, including the poor, the farmers and the Dalits.
“When the Congress government came to power in 2004, Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and we all made just one promise that we will work for the ‘aam admi,’ farmers of Punjab, mazdoor (labourers), Dalit and it will be there government. We functioned as per our promise,” he said, slamming the NDA for “thinking” about the rich and upper classes.
He said the opposition parties made a new promise daily and ridiculed NDA’s slogan of ‘India shining’ during the Lok Sabha elections in 2004, saying the slogan in English was only meant for the privileged.
Gandhi said the BJP leaders told the entire country that India is shining. “But they did not go to the houses of the poor, the farmers, the Dalit and other weaker sections. They just went to the houses of the rich. You (voters) then showed them the door,” he said. PTI
