Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi added to his continued flubs in public, this time forgetting the name of a scheme that shares it with his own grandmother!
Not only that, the name he almost used is that of the deceased leader of a party that politically rivals the Congress, and is from an entirely different state!
Even worse: During the inauguration, his speech also apparently hinted that Bangalore was a state and not a city!
What is the Indira Canteen?
The Congress currently rules two major states in India — Punjab and Karnataka. And, with Assembly elections in the latter imminent next year, it came as no surprise when Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah invited Rahul Gandhi to inaugurate Indira Canteens — which can be seen as a pro-poor move.
Named after Rahul's grandmother, Indira Canteens — modelled after the Amma Canteens pioneered by deceased AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa in neighbouring Tamil Nadu — are expected to provide meals for as cheap as Rs 5 per plate for now.
It was this initiative that Rahul Gandhi had come to Bengaluru to inaugurate when he made his flubs, which are now going viral all over social media!
What Rahul Gandhi said
Speaking at the inauguration event, Rahul said towards the end of his speech: "[The] Chief minister has mentioned to me that Bangalore is just the beginning...That he is going to expand this programme to other cities."
He went on to add: "And soon, over the next couple of months, every single city in Bangalore... every single poor person in every single city in Bangalore will feel that in the state of Karnataka, under Siddaramaiah ji's government, I simply cannot go hungry. That is the vision of the Amma... err... In... Indira Canteen."
One must now wait and watch to see if the move by Siddaramaiah to get Rahul Gandhi to inaugurate this pro-poor initiative works out or backfires.
