Chandigarh, Apr 23 (PTI) Delhi minister Gopal Rai said the drop in the voter turnout in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls’ first phase compared to the 2019 elections is proof that the Modi government has given people two things — “disappointment” and “fear”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to provide 2 crore jobs every year but 83 per cent of youths are unemployed today, with Haryana having the highest unemployment rate, Rai claimed at a press conference in Kurukshetra, where he will be campaigning for the AAP’s Lok Sabha poll candidate Sushil Gupta.
While the AAP has fielded its candidate from Kurukshetra, its INDIA bloc ally Congress is contesting the remaining nine seats in Haryana.
All the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana will go to polls in the sixth round of the seven-phase elections on May 25.
“The first phase of the Lok Sabha elections is over. The drop in the polling percentage in the first phase is proof that during the past 10 years, the Modi government has given two things to people — one is disappointment and the other is fear,” said Rai.
A voter turnout of nearly 63 per cent was recorded in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 19 which covered 102 seats across 21 states and union territories, according to the Election Commission.
According to reports, the majority of the seats that went to polls recorded a drop in voter turnout compared to the first phase of the 2019 general elections.
Rai said Modi had once promised ‘acche din’ and to provide 2 crore jobs every year.
“Now after 10 years, according to figures, 83 per cent of youths are unemployed and Haryana has the highest unemployment rate. It is a matter of shame. The youth of Haryana are being sent to strife-torn Israel for jobs,” the AAP Delhi convenor charged.
“There is disappointment in every section of society. The Modi government knows that people will not vote for it on the basis of its work, so it is instilling fear in them,” he said, adding that central agencies such as ED, CBI and I-T department are being “misused” for this.
This an example of “dictatorship”, he said.
“Given the kind of silent support it (INDIA bloc) is receiving on the ground level in various states, nervousness has now started showing on Modi’s face and in his speeches as well,” he claimed.
Rai said this election is a fight to save the country.
“Many sacrifices were made for what we have today, including the Constitution. Today, the fight is not just about electing an MP or forming the government, it is about saving the country,” he said.
“Therefore, we appeal to all to unite to save the Constitution and our democracy which are under attack,” he said.
The AAP leader said many leaders whom the BJP once accused of corruption suddenly became clean after they joined the BJP.
Rai also targeted the BJP for fielding industrialist and former Congress MP Naveen Jindal from Kurukshetra after he joined the saffron party last month, saying, “The BJP could not find its own candidate and had to field Jindal.” On Nayab Singh Saini replacing Manohar Lal Khattar as the Haryana chief minister last month, the AAP leader said the BJP government would not have had to do this had it done any work. PTI SUN DIV DIV
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.