Rahul Gandhi Pauses Speech on Hearing Azaan at Karnataka Poll Rally | Watch

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stopped his speech midway on hearing the azaan (call to public prayer in a mosque) during a public meeting in poll-bound Karnataka on Monday. He was addressing people at a rally in Turuvekere in Tumakuru district, ahead of the assembly elections on May 10.

The senior leader paused his speech as a mark of respect and was silent throughout as the azaan played in the background. In a video shared by news agency ANI, it is seen that Gandhi is tapped on the shoulder by senior leader KC Venugopal when the azaan begins and he immediately stops speaking. Later, he even puts a finger on his lips signalling to some Congress supporters to remain quiet.

“…So, now I’ve told you what the government’s responsibility is towards its people…” Gandhi says, when Venugopal alerts him and he stops speaking. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, has stopped his speeches during azaan.

In his speech, Gandhi hit out at Prime Minister Modi and said like everything else, he was making the Karnataka elections, too, about himself. Gandhi’s dig at the prime minister came after Modi, in a public meeting earlier, had alleged that he was “abused 91 times”. The prime minister was targeting the Congress over its party president Mallikarjun Kharge’s “venomous snake” barb at him. In fact, on Monday, the Congress chief’s son Priyank Kharge, too, took a jibe at the PM by referring to him as a “nalayak beta” (useless son).

The former Congress president said the PM should talk about the BJP government’s work and its future plans in Karnataka, not about himself. He further claimed that in his speeches, the PM had not once mentioned chief minister Basavaraj Bommai or BJP veteran BS Yediyurappa.

“You (Modi) come to campaign in Karnataka for elections, but don’t speak about Karnataka. You speak about yourself. You have to say what you did in Karnataka for the past three years. You also have to speak in your speeches about what you will be doing in the next five years, what will do for youth, education, health and to fight corruption,” Gandhi said.

He added: “This election is not about you, it is about Karnataka’s people and its future. You say Congress abused you 91 times, but you never speak about what you did for Karnataka. In your next speech, you speak about what you did and what you will do in the next five years.”

Read all the Latest Politics News here