Ruling MNF, opposition ZPM facilitated BJP entry into Mizoram: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the Congress party's stand on Palestine-Israel is very clear: "We are against violence. Killing of innocent people is a crime". Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to poll-bound Mizoram, said on Tuesday that the Rajasthan, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh models of governance would be adopted after the INDIA bloc comes to power at the Centre.

Gandhi said that the BJP-RSS is keen to thrust one ideology on India and the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) and the opposition Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) have been instrumental in the entry of the BJP and RSS into Mizoram. "MNF and ZPM are the entry points and platforms for the RSS and BJP in Mizoram," he told the media in Aizawl. Gandhi attacked the MNF for the state's growing unemployment and said unemployment is the main reason for the increasing drug abuse cases.

"We need to create better, alternative opportunities for the youths. Through small and medium enterprises, a large number of youths can economically empower themselves," he said. He said the Congress was going to come back in Mizoram and will defeat the BJP in the Northeast, just as did in Karnataka, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. "We do not believe that Mizoram should be ruled directly from the Centre. Like other states in India, we are developing a vision for Mizoram. Your religion and traditions are under attack. We want the people of Mizoram to defend their culture, language and religion," he said.