Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday addressed a rally in Mizoram Capital, Aizawl, ahead of the elections to the State Legislative Assembly which is scheduled to be held on 7th November 2023.

The event took place at a place near Mizoram Raj Bhavan but before that, Gandhi led a Pandyatra (campaign on foot) from Chanmari to Treasury Square.

In his address, Gandhi reminisced visiting the northeastern state with his father when he was 16 and described the people of Mizoram as gentle, kind and affectionate and hailed the strong sense of community and respect for each other. “You have a spirit of altruism. These are powerful values in the 21st century,” he said.

He accused the BJP of targeting different communities, religions, languages, and cultures and of promoting violence and arrogance and the ruling Mizo National Front of supporting these attacks which he said was contrary to the idea of India. He appealed voters to choose “Congress party that treats everybody with respect and provides not empty words but a vision for the state of Mizoram.”

Rahul Gandhi urged the people to question what the has done in the last five years, specifically mentioning the unemployment and drug problem in the state.

He further assured that the Congress would defend the culture, religion, and tradition if it voted to power because “they are our most valuable assets.”

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The Congress leader slammed Prime Minister for his alleged affinity to Adani while also defining GST as a device designed to harm Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and demonetization as a ridiculous idea the Indian economy is yet to recover from.

On Manipur, Rahul Gandhi said that the PM and the Government and India were more interested in what was happening in Israel than the violence in Manipur that began more than five months back. “Prime Minister doesn’t find it important to visit the state,” he said.

Gandhi is in the state for two days. Later in the day, he is scheduled to interact with students at Lalthanhawala Auditorium.

Meanwhile, AICC has released the list of candidates for 39 of the 40 seats in Mizoram.

The Congress’ Central Election Committee has released the list of candidates for the Mizoram Assembly elections 2023. pic.twitter.com/6MpruVSUJD

— Congress (@INCIndia) October 16, 2023