Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he aims to put an end to hatred in the country and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to be defeated at the Centre for the purpose.
Addressing an election rally at Nampally here, he alleged that RSS, Modi and "hardliners" have spread hatred in the entire country.
Congress coined a slogan of "opening a 'mohabbat ki dukaan' (shop of love) in the 'nafrat ke bazaar' (market of hate)" during his Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said, adding that as he fights Modi, 24 cases have been filed against him in various states -- and the courts summon him from time to time.
"First time, for defamation, I got two years' punishment. My Lok Sabha membership was cancelled. My government house was taken away. I said I don't want it. My home is in the hearts of the crores of poor people in the country," he said.
An MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh on Monday summoned Gandhi in a 2018 defamation case over alleged "objectionable" comments he made against Union minister Amit Shah.
Rahul Gandhi made no reference to the UP court summoning him in his speech in the rally at Nampally here.
"The fight is ideological and I cannot compromise on it," Gandhi said.
Attacking AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, he asked how many cases are there against him.
Claiming that agencies like ED and CBI are behind himself all the time, Gandhi asked if any agency is behind Owaisi.
The question arises why there is no case against Owaisi, and the answer is that the AIMIM president helps Modi, he claimed.
He also accused AIMIM of fielding its candidates to damage the Congress and help the BJP in various states.
My aim is to erase hatred in the country and, for that, Modi should be defeated in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi said.
If Modi is to be defeated in Delhi, BRS President and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao should be defeated in Telangana first, he said.
He alleged that the BRS, BJP and AIMIM are working together, and pointed out that the BRS had supported the Modi government in Parliament.
He also sought to know if there are any cases against KCR. "He (KCR) runs the most corrupt government," he said.
Agencies like ED, CBI and IT are not behind KCR or AIMIM, he said.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
