New Delhi, March 7: Rahul Gandhi today alleged that Narendra Modi was too "afraid" to speak out against the murder of Indians and Indian-origin people in the US, attacking the Prime Minister's image as a strong and decisive leader.
" Darta hai Hindustan ka Pradhan Mantri (India's Prime Minister is afraid)," he told a rally in Delhi where the Congress kicked off its campaign for civic elections.
Barring a few references to the civic polls and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Rahul kept his focus on the Prime Minister, who has been the face of the BJP in the Uttar Pradesh elections.
The Congress vice-president seemed to be addressing the people of Uttar Pradesh, where 40 constituencies will vote tomorrow in the seventh and last phase of the election.
"Modi claims he has a 56-inch chest. When our boys are killed in the US, why is he silent? He hasn't uttered a word," he said.
"I'll tell you why: because he practises the politics of lies. He can embrace (former US President Barack) Obama but will remain silent when innocent Indians are killed there. He doesn't have the courage."
Srinivas Kuchibhotla was shot dead and fellow Indian engineer Alok Madasani injured at a Kansas bar-cum-grill on February 22, while Indian American Deep Rai, 39, survived a shooting near Seattle on March 3. The FBI is investigating both as hate crimes.
An Indian, Vamsi Chander Reddy Mamidala, was killed during a carjacking in California in early February, and Indian American Harnish Patel was murdered on March 2 in South Carolina. US police do not suspect a racial motive in these cases so far.
Some of the attacks have been blamed on US President Donald Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric. Indian officials have attributed Modi's silence to his government's reluctance to risk any misunderstanding with the Trump administration at a time New Delhi is lobbying Washington discreetly over concerns relating to threats to slash work visas.
Rahul accused Modi of engaging in the politics of "cowardice and lies".
"Has Modi fulfilled even a single promise made to Varanasi? He promised to give two crore jobs (across India) every year, Rs 15 lakh to every account (after repatriating black money stashed abroad)... clean the Ganga, solar lights, free Internet... turn it (Varanasi) into Kyoto. Varanasi has now understood Modi practises the politics of lies. He lied to them," Rahul said.
He jeered at Modi for campaigning in Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency, for three straight days at the weekend.
"This is the first time a Prime Minister has done a three-day show in his constituency. Let him do whatever he can but the people of Varanasi have made up their minds - they will defeat him. The youth thought he would be a harbinger of change but they now know the outcome of (Modi's campaigns such as) Made-in-India, Start-up-India, etc."
In what seemed an attempt to use Modi's Gujarati origin to stress the importance of a local politician leading a state election campaign, Rahul said: "He (Modi) said, 'Mother Ganga called me'. Look at the arrogance: as if Mother Ganga was looking for one person from Gujarat."
He claimed that Congress governance reflected the people's voice while Modi had imposed a one-man rule on India.
Rahul accused Kejriwal of sharing what he said were Modi's autocratic traits and a tendency to base his politics on false promises and lies. He asked the audience whether Kejriwal had fulfilled any of his promises.
Recalling a conversation with an Aam Aadmi Party strategist, Rahul said Kejriwal too ran a one-man show and exploited people's anger and resentment for political gain. He alleged that Kejriwal had done nothing to reduce corruption in Delhi.
In an allusion to Kejriwal, Delhi Congress politician Ajay Maken asked the crowd to ponder why the protagonists of the Lokpal, an anti-corruption ombudsman, were now silent when the post lay vacant despite the law passed by the previous Congress government.
