"BJP has turned Goa into its piggy bank": Congress leader Rahul Gandhi

Margao: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Sunday accused the BJP of electoral malpractice and alleged that the party was using its power to manipulate elections, while also targeting the Goa government over land issues, unemployment, corruption and the education system.

Addressing a public meeting during the Goy Rakhonn Yatra on its 25th day in Margao, Gandhi alleged that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were involved in what he described as "vote theft".

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"The entire nation knows without any confusion how electoral malpractice is orchestrated: Gyanesh Kumar implements the vote theft, Amit Shah operationalises it, and Narendra Modi plans it from behind the scenes," he alleged.

Turning to Goa, Gandhi described the state as one of the most beautiful places in the country, with a rich cultural heritage, but alleged that the government was taking land from farmers and poor people to sell it to wealthy outsiders.

"Goa is not the personal property of the Chief Minister here. Goa belongs to the people here-where you should get education, health, employment. The BJP has turned Goa into a 'model of corruption'. BJP leaders from other states come to the Goa government to learn corruption. We have to end this 'corruption model', which only Congress can do.

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Gandhi also criticised the employment situation in Goa, alleging that high unemployment was leaving young people without opportunities and forcing them to migrate abroad. He further alleged that BJP leaders were accumulating wealth while the assets of the Chief Minister's family continued to grow.

Gandhi alleged, "Goa suffers from some of the highest unemployment rates in the country, leaving young people with no future and forcing them to migrate abroad. While ordinary citizens suffer, BJP leaders are turning into billionaires and the Chief Minister's family assets continue to multiply."

Targeting the Centre's economic policies, Gandhi alleged that major infrastructure sectors, including airports, roads, power plants and defence, had been handed over to industrialists Gautam Adand Mukesh Ambani. He claimed that the system of awarding contracts and land to billionaires was linked to political funding and extensive publicity for the ruling leadership.

Accusing the BJP government of widespread corruption in Goa, Gandhi described the situation as a "Goa model" of high-tech graft and alleged that BJP leaders from other states visited the state to study it. He compared this with what he described as the earlier Gujarat model of vote theft and said the Congress was prepared to fight the ideological battle against corruption.

Gandhi also expressed confidence that the BJP leadership would lose its political dominance, claiming that the youth and the people of the country had recognised its character.

"The aura of invincibility and the talk of a '56-inch chest' have vanished because the youth and the soul of this nation have recognized their true character. Once the conscience of the nation decides to reject them, no amount of force, money, or marketing can save them," he said.