Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, launched a fierce criticism against the BJP government on Thursday, focusing on rising unemployment in Haryana. He reiterated his party’s commitment to filling 200,000 vacant government posts in the poll-bound state.
Speaking at a rally in Assandh ahead of the October 5 Haryana Assembly elections, Gandhi slammed the BJP for failing to support Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Dalits, and Adivasis.
During his speech, Gandhi recalled his recent trip to Texas, where he met young men from Haryana who had migrated through dangerous and illegal routes, or donkey as they call it, seeking better prospects abroad. He blamed the BJP for this exodus of youth from Haryana by failing to create job opportunities in the state.
“I recently visited America, and in Texas, I heard that around 15,000-20,000 young men from Haryana had gone to America. I was shocked. Why are so many people leaving Haryana? In Dallas, I met a group of your brothers cramped in a tiny house, with 15-20 of them sharing a single room. I asked them how they got to America.”
He explained that these men shared harrowing stories of how they travelled through multiple countries, including crossing Panama’s treacherous jungles to reach US. “They were robbed by mafias along the way and witnessed the death of fellow travellers. Each of them spent at least Rs 35 lakh to make the journey,” Gandhi said.
One of these men asked Gandhi to meet his family back in Haryana, which prompted his visit to Karnal last week. “I went to a village in Karnal, and we had a video conference. There were about 20-25 family members in Karnal, 10-15 in Dallas, and others joining from elsewhere. Suddenly, a small boy named Dev ran up to the screen, hugging it tightly, crying, ‘Dad, please come back!’”
Gandhi described the emotional moment, noting that the boy’s father, thousands of kilometres away in America, was trying to smile through his own pain. “The poor child hasn’t seen or hugged his father in years. This is because of the BJP government in Haryana,” he remarked.
Gandhi said that while witnessing the boy’s anguish, he couldn’t help but think about the hundreds of other children in similar situations, crying for their fathers who had left due to a lack of opportunities at home. “This is Congress’s duty – to wipe away those tears. Why is Dev crying? Because Narendra Modi has driven the youth of Haryana out of the state,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi also spoke about wrestler Bajrang Punia, who recently joined the Congress. “I visited Bajrang Punia’s gym, where he trains tirelessly for 24 hours a day to win gold medals, not just for himself, but for Haryana and for India. And what was done to him? His sisters were sexually harassed, and the accused were protected because they belong to the BJP,” he said, condemning the government’s treatment of athletes.
Gandhi said that the Congress envisions a different Haryana – one where children aren’t left crying for their fathers. The party has promised Rs 2,000 per month and an LPG cylinder for Rs 500 for women, the creation of 200,000 government jobs, an MSP guarantee for farmers, and swift compensation for crop losses. They have also promised 100 square yard plots for the poor and 300 units of free electricity.
On the importance of conducting a caste census, Gandhi described it as a fight not just for Haryana, but for all of India, to protect the Constitution. “The BJP is attacking the Constitution that safeguards the rights of the poor and marginalised. All our institutions are now controlled by the RSS, with Nagpur pulling the strings,” Gandhi added.
