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Rahul Gandhi LIVE in Gujarat: In Porbandar, Congress VP says state doesn’t belong to 5-10 industrialists

Rahul Gandhi Gujarat Election 2017 Campaign Live Updates: All details of Congress vice-president’s visit to Porbandar, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Mahisagar and Dahod districts ahead of the crucial Gujarat polls.

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Gujarat election 2017: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi plays a musical instrument at an interaction program at Harij in Patan district on November 13, 2017. GPCC President Bharatsinh Solanki is also seen. (PTI Photo)

Gujarat elections 2017: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is starting two-day campaign for the upcoming polls from today. The two-phase polls in the state will be held on December 9 and 14, while the results will be announced on December 18. Gandhi, who would soon become the Congress president, will accept a giant national flag made by Dalit community, which was earlier meant to be presented to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani a few months ago. However, according to PTI, the state officials Ahmedabad had reportedly refused to accept it citing lack of space.

In what can be seen as a bid to gain Dalit votes, Rahul will visit Dalit Shakti Kendra (DSK), a vocational training institute run by Dalit activists, near Sanand town of Ahmedabad. Apart from interacting with Dalits in Sanand, Rahul will interact with fishermen, doctors, teachers and villagers on his route covering Porbandar, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Mahisagar and Dahod districts.

Rahul Gandhi Gujarat election 2017 campaign Day 1 Live Updates:

3.15 pm: Rahul Gandhi is in Gujarat for two days to lead his party’s election campaign ahead of the first phase of polling on 89 Assembly seats next month.

3.00 pm: He criticised the BJP government in Gujarat for stopping the subsidy given to fishermen to buy diesel for their boats.

2.50 pm: Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi alleged that the fishermen from Gujarat are now forced to venture deep into the sea because of the pollution caused by 10-15 industrialists, who are “Modiji’s friends”.

2.30 pm: Gandhi, during his address to the fishermen at this coastal town on the first day of his two-day campaign tour of Gujarat, expressed confidence that the Congress will emerge victorious in the state, where the party has been out of power for 22 years.

2.00 pm: “Fishermen’s work is equivalent to that of farmers. Sometime back, you demanded that if there is a ministry to look after the agriculture sector, then why not for fishermen? I agree with you, and I promise that the Congress will set it up after forming the government at the Centre,” Gandhi said.

1.50 pm: He claimed that the BJP-led state government, during the tenure of Narendra Modi as chief minister, gave away Rs 33,000 crore to Tata Motors for its Nano car plant.

1.30 pm: “When Congress was in power, fishermen used to get 25 per cent subsidy on the purchase of diesel. That subsidy, which was just Rs 300 crore (per annum), has been abolished by the BJP government here. What kind of magic is this? They can give Rs 33,000 crore for Nano factory but they cant give Rs 300 crore to you,” he asked.

12.46 pm: Narendra Modi tells his mann ki baat. But nobody listens to “aapke mann ki baat.” Congress will win the December election in Gujarat and will form a government which listens to you and works as per your will, says Rahul Gandhi.

12.43 pm: Check out INC’s Tweet:

12.40 pm: Did you see any suit-boot at the time of the note-taking when you were in line? I did not seem them because they were already sitting in the AC from the back inside the bank

12. 35 pm: If the Congress party wins the elections then our doors will be open for you whether it is the assembly or the chief minister’s office, the government will tell the people of Gujarat what they say.

12.30 pm: The voice of Gujarat’s richest people has been heard in the Assembly and the Chief Minister’s Office for 22 years, your voice will not reach the government, we will change it.

12.25 pm: The fishermen had said that the work that the farmer does, the fisherman does the job, the fishermen should have a different ministry, and if our government is formed then we will do this work.

12.23 pm: If the big industrialists ask for money from Modi, then they give Rs 33,000 crore, says Rahul Gandhi

12.22 pm: When the Congress party was in power, we used to subsidize diesel, this subsidy was given to 5 lakh people,  says Rahul Gandhi

12.21 pm: The farmer is talking about forgiving the debt all over the country, Narendra Modi ji has apologized for the biggest 10 industrialists of India last year, Rs.1,30,000 crore.

12.18 am: Will create a separate ministry for fishermen in Gujarat, says Rahul Gandhi

12.10 pm: Rahul Gandhi has arrived in Porbandar.

12.00 pm: After landing at the Porbandar airport on Friday, Gandhi would start his tour by meeting local fishermen to understand their problems, a release by the party said. In the afternoon, Gandhi would visit the DSK near Sanand. He will then arrive in Ahmedabad to take part in two separate interactive sessions, one with doctors and medical professionals and another with lecturers and primary school teachers.

11.30 am: Meanwhile in Delhi, the Centre has announced dates of the Winter Session of Parliament after days of protests from opposition, who alleged that the government was deliberately delaying the Winter Session to avoid scrutiny ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections.

LIVE: Parliament Winter Session Dates announced after days of protest from opposition; NCBC, Triple Talaq on agenda

11.20 am: Martin Macwan, DSK founder, says the giant flag was made as part of their movement to end untouchability in the country.”This flag, made from khadi and weighing around 240 kgs, was prepared by around 100 DSK students from Dalit and backward communities. Though we went to Gandhinagar to hand it over to the CM on August 11, he did not meet us. Officials at the Gandhinagar collectorate also refused to accept it, saying they don’t have the space to keep it,” Macwan said.

“It was disheartening because we just wanted to spread the message and wanted to urge the CM to do his bit in Gujarat to end the practice of untouchability. When Rahul Gandhi learned about it, he informed us that he will accept the flag when he will visit the DSK tomorrow,” Macwan added.

11.00 am: Manish Doshi said, “This is the largest national flag ever made. Though it was meant to be presented to Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani, he had refused to accept it when Dalits went to Gandhinagar in August. When Rahulji learned about it, he conveyed his desire to accept the flag with full honour,” Doshi added.

10.50 am: “During his visit, Rahulji will accept a giant national flag, measuring 125 feet in length and 83 feet in height, from Dalit students of the Kendra. He will also address locals and Dalits of surrounding areas at the centre,” Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi was quoted as saying by PTI.

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First published on: 24-11-2017 at 11:12 IST
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