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Rahul calls Modi 'loudspeaker' of rich businessmen

Last updated on: October 14, 2019 23:34 IST

In a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused him of being a 'loudspeaker of Ambani and Adani' and warned that the economy will 'further deteriorate' in the next six months which will make the country stand up in one voice against the PM .

IMAGE: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi speaks during a campaign rally ahead of Haryana assembly polls, in Nuh district of Haryana. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo

Addressing his first rally in Nuh for the October 21 Haryana Assembly polls, Gandhi alleged that the prime minister and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar were working for 15 people in the country and had taken out money from the pockets of the poor to give away to his 'rich friends'.

Stepping up his offensive against the PM over the Rafale issue, Gandhi claimed that the Indian Air Force people said that Narendra Modi himself got the Rafale contract changed.

 

"It was an Air Force document, that (said) it was the prime minister's order. But the media will not show it. It cannot come in the media as they don't want to show the truth, they only want to show lies... sometimes they show moon, sometimes puja in front of the aircraft, defence minister will go to France, movie in Corbett Park etc.," he said.

"Modi from stage cannot say to the youth that the promise I made of giving two crore jobs, I have broken that. He cannot tell the farmer that the MSP you should get, I will not give," the former Congress president said.

IMAGE: Congress's Rahul Gandhi waves at his supporters at a rally in support of party candidate Aftab Ahmed. Haryana Congress president Kumari Selja and Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda were also present. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo

Gandhi, who has hit the campaign trail for the assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana, also hit out at the media, saying, "They will show the Rafale jet, but would not talk about the theft in it."

He slammed the prime minister, alleging that he took lakhs of crores of rupees from people and put it in the ‘pockets of the likes of Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Adani and Ambani’.

Referring to demonetisation, Gandhi asked people if they saw Anil Ambani in line or Adani standing in queues.

Not a single person with black money was standing in queues post-demonetization, he said addressing the rally in favour of Congress candidate Aftab Ahmed.

Haryana Congress chief Kumari Selja, All India Congress Committee Haryana in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad and Deepender Hooda were also present at the rally.

Gandhi also attacked the government over the GST, which he described as Gabbar Singh Tax, saying five different taxes and a rate of 28 per cent had ruined small and medium businesses.

Modi wants to give their business to the 15-20 richest Indians, he alleged.

"Narendra Modi is a loudspeaker of Ambani and Adani, understand this. He talks about them all day," Gandhi said.

"You will see Modi only with (US President Donald) Trump and (industrialist) Ambani, but you will never see him with farmers," he said.

Modi and Khattar are taking away your money and giving it to their 15 rich friends, Gandhi alleged.

"You (Modi call yourselves nationalists, why are you giving away India's capital to your rich friends? Why are they selling PSUs to their rich friends?" he asked.

"Modi's work is to divert your attention from the real issues, so you do not ask any questions of them," he said.

"Now see what will happen in six months, because youth is watching. They are watching what is happening that 'PM does 'Mann Ki Baat' at every 10 days but I don't have food in my stomach, I don't have a future'.

"In six months, it will come to the fore, the economy will go down in such a big way, that the country will rise in one voice against Narendra Modi," he claimed.

IMAGE: Congress supporters gather to attend Rahul Gandhi's election campaign rally. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo

Accusing Modi of waiving Rs 5.5 lakh crore of 15 rich businessmen, Gandhi alleged that the media did not highlight the real issues.

"Their bosses do not want the youths to understand that Narendra Modi has along with them robbed you of your money and brought unemployment," he said.

"They will talk of Bollywood, moon, sky, will show Rafale aircraft, but will not talk about the theft in it. They think that people do not know. No, Narendra Modi ji, Indian people know everything. You will get to know in Haryana what people know and what they don't," Gandhi said.

Asserting that the Congress unites people, he also targeted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, accusing them of dividing the country and its people on the basis of caste, religion and region like the British.

Hitting out at the PM and Haryana CM, he said, "When you listen to Modiji and Khattarji's speeches these days, you get to hear false promises one after another."
While the prime minister talked about his "mann ki baat", Gandhi said he would instead talk of 'kaam Ki baat', as he sought public support for his party to regain power in Haryana.

"Whatever we say from the stage, we do that. I promise that the Gurgaon-Alwar railway line will be a reality, the Nuh engineering college will be made a university. The expansion of the local lake and the Mewat canal will be done once a Congress government is formed in Haryana," Gandhi said.

The Congress is seeking to oust the BJP government in Haryana in the October 21 polls.

Gandhi claimed that whatever promises he had made so far, he had fulfilled like those in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, besides Karnataka.

Lamenting that the country's economy was 'shattered' under the Modi government, Gandhi said to jump-start it, money was needed to be put in the pockets of the poor and farmers and the Congress' 'Nyay' scheme, proposed during the Lok Sabha polls held in April-May, was a step in this direction.

Gandhi warned of a serious economic situation in the country in the coming days as Modi, he alleged, was 'giving away all the money taken from the poor to rich businessmen, who were fleeing abroad with it'.

"The economy is destroyed. You ask the small and medium traders and they will say that they have been destroyed," he said.

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