Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, in the course of a day-long visit to Raipur, launched a financial assistance scheme for landless labourers named after his father — ‘Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Bhoomihin Krishi Majdoor Nyay Yojana’ (RGGBKMNY).
During his address at Raipur, Mr. Gandhi reiterated his statement in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday attacking the BJP for dividing the country into “two Indias” — one for the rich capitalist friends of the Government and another for the majority who are struggling for their basic needs.
His visit assumes importance because of a six-month long feud between Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Health Minister T.S. Singh Deo. Mr. Deo, cited the formula of rotational tenure which he claimed was agreed upon in 2018, when the Congress won the State after a gap of 15 years.
Mr. Baghel’s camp sees Mr. Gandhi’s visit as rejection of this formula. Mr. Gandhi, on his part, gave no such indication. Papering over the differences that had spilled out in the open, Mr. Deo referred to Mr. Baghel as his “captain”. Mr. Gandhi said that although the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) want the rule of only one ideology in the country, it can never happen. These internal divisions created by the BJP have left India weak, giving a walkover to China.