NEW DELHI: Rhetoric will rain down on Gujarat, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said in a “weather report” ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to his home state today. Mr Gandhi’s dig comes in the wake of speculation that the Prime Minister may announce a host of sops for poll-bound Gujarat.
“Weather report: Ahead of elections, Gujarat will today have rain of rhetoric,” he said on Twitter, using the phrase “jumlon ki baarish” in his Hindi tweet.
He also tagged a report headlined, “As Gujarat waits for poll date, state gets projects worth nearly Rs. 12,500 crore” with his tweet. The Congress has accused the BJP and the government of “putting pressure” on the Election Commission not to announce simultaneous polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
The Congress has alleged that if the Election Commission had announced assembly elections in Gujarat along with Himachal Pradesh, the model code of conduct would come into force with immediate effect, leaving no scope for the BJP to announce any sops for people in Gujarat.
Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh will be held on November 9 and results announced on December 18. The Gujarat elections have not been announced yet, though Chief Election Commissioner Achal Kumar Jyoti has said they will be held before December 18.