Rahul Gandhi attacks BJP over corruption, crimes, says ‘double-engine’ govt is only f
Rahul Gandhi attacks BJP over corruption, crimes, says ‘double-engine’ govt is only for billionaires
M.U.H
09/01/202625
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday attacked the Union government, accusing the BJP of presiding over a system marked by corruption, abuse of power and indifference to human suffering, as the Congress sought to link a series of crimes and governance failures across states to what it called the ruling party’s political culture.
“Across the country, the ‘corrupt’ Janata Party’s double-engine governments have ruined people’s lives,” Rahul Gandhi said.
“Corruption, abuse of power, and the poison of arrogance have spread from top to bottom in BJP’s politics. In their system, the lives of the poor, helpless, laborers, and middle class are mere statistics, and in the name of ‘development,’ an extortion racket is running.”
The remarks came amid renewed demands by the Congress for a central probe into the 2022 murder of Ankita Bhandari in Uttarakhand, a case that has continued to haunt the BJP government in the state.
The party has alleged that powerful interests linked to the ruling dispensation were shielded during the investigation.
Reflecting on the case, the Congress leader said, “The brutal murder of Ankita Bhandari in Uttarakhand has shaken the entire nation—but the question remains the same even today: Which BJP VIP is being protected by those in power? When will the law be equal for all?”
Rahul Gandhi also revisited the Unnao rape case in Uttar Pradesh, one of the most controversial crimes during the BJP’s tenure in the state.
“The whole country has seen how criminals were shielded by the arrogance of power and how much the victim had to pay for justice,” he said, reiterating a long-standing Opposition charge that political patronage delayed accountability.
The Congress leader broadened his attack to include what he described as failures of basic governance, citing recent reports of water contamination and public health risks in multiple states.
“Whether it’s deaths from drinking poisoned water in Indore, or complaints of ‘black water’ and contaminated supply reaching Gujarat-Haryana-Delhi—fear of diseases looms everywhere,” he said.
Earlier this week, he had described the Indore water contamination crisis as a failure of governance and accountability under the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government.
Writing on X on Friday, he said, “In Indore, there was no water—just poison being distributed, while the administration slumbered like Kumbhakarna. Mourning has spread from home to home, the poor are helpless—and to top it off, arrogant statements from BJP leaders. Those whose hearths have gone cold needed solace; the government served up hubris instead.”
He cited deaths allegedly linked to contaminated cough syrup and reports of rats in government hospitals killing children, adding that “every time the poor die, Modi, as always, remains silent.”
Extending his critique beyond public health, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha accused the BJP of sacrificing environmental safeguards for corporate interests.
“Be it Rajasthan’s Aravali or natural resources—wherever the greed and self-interest of billionaires reached, rules were trampled there. Mountains are being sliced, forests razed—and in return, the public gets: dust, pollution, and disasters,” he said.
He described a pattern of tragedies—“Deaths of children from cough syrup, rats killing newborns in government hospitals, collapsing roofs in government schools”.
He said that these were not isolated lapses. “These are not ‘negligence,’ but the direct blow of corruption".
“Bridges collapse, roads cave in, families are wiped out in train accidents, and the BJP government does the same every time: photo-ops, tweets, and the formality of compensation.”
Summing up his attack, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said, “Modi ji’s ‘double engine’ is running, but only for billionaires. For the common Indian, this double-engine government of corruption is not development, but the speed of devastation—crushing someone’s life every day.”
