By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
Kickstarting election campaign ahead of assembly elections in Uttarakhand, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the BJP and RSS, accusing their leaders of staying away from the freedom struggle and describing them as “deserters”.
Addressing a Congress rally in Haldwani coinciding with the anniversary of the Quit India Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi on August 8, 1942, Kharge alleged that most BJP and RSS leaders had supported the British during the freedom movement.
“Do you remember any of their leaders going to jail during the freedom struggle?” Kharge asked, questioning the contribution of the BJP and RSS to the independence movement.
Kharge also targeted Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami over government spending on media advertisements. He alleged that the state government spends around Rs 1,000 crore annually on advertisements, calling it an unnecessary expenditure of public money.
“Whose money is this? Who gave them this money? This is taxpayers’ money, which is being wasted by the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand,” Kharge said.
The Congress president also trained his guns on the Centre over the issue of question paper leaks and student protests. Challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he said the government should hold a debate in Parliament on the concerns of protesting students if it believed its position was justified.
Kharge said repeated question paper leaks had left students distressed. He alleged that instead of addressing their concerns, the government was adopting a “repressive” approach towards students protesting at Jantar Mantar.
Kharge also rejected the government’s claim that the Opposition was responsible for disruptions in Parliament, asserting that it was the government itself that had prevented the House from functioning.
“Modi ji, we are not afraid of you or your Shah. Has your 56-inch chest shrunk? Can’t you talk to the students?” he said.
He said Congress workers would not be intimidated and maintained that the party was fighting to protect the Constitution, democracy and the rights of the poor, women and students. Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, Kharge said Gandhi had marched from Kanyakumari to Kashmir to defend constitutional values and democracy.
On unemployment, Kharge recalled the BJP’s 2014 promise of creating two crore jobs every year and questioned how many jobs had actually been provided to the country’s youth.
He further claimed that around 30 lakh government posts were lying vacant and alleged that the Centre was not filling them. “How can we talk about a developed India in such a situation?” he asked.
Kharge said the Congress had a clear vision and plan for generating employment and accelerating economic development.