At a massive election rally in Nagpur on Thursday evening, Gandhi said if the Congress and its allies come to power, an inquiry will be conducted against Modi over his alleged involvement in the Rafale deal
A day after Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi said in Gondia that Opposition leaders will be in Delhi’s Tihar jail after the polls, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that all those who “claim to be chowkidars will find themselves in jail after the elections”.
At a massive election rally in Nagpur on Thursday evening, Gandhi said if the Congress and its allies come to power, an inquiry will be conducted against Modi over his alleged involvement in the Rafale deal. “The chowkidar will be behind bars and a real chowkidar will be on guard,” he said, in a sharp contrast to the Congress manifesto which largely steered clear of Rafale deal.
Renewing his allegation of corruption and financial misdemeanour in the deal, he said, “Why couldn’t someone from Vidarbha get the deal?
He also gave an open challenge to Modi for a live debate on corruption, unemployment and farmers’ issue for 15 minutes. “Why is he afraid of holding a press conference with the media,” he asked.
The Congress, in their manifesto, said if voted to power, they will deposit ₹72,000 annually in the accounts of the poor under the Nyay scheme. “The scheme was finalised only after consulting experts. It will be a surgical strike on poverty. I am a man of commitment. Believe me and wait for my action,” he said. “Narendra Modiji had promised ₹15 lakh. We have committed ₹72,000 annually to the poor people. I am not in a hurry, like Modi. I make promises that can be fulfilled. I am in politics to build a long-standing relationship with you.”
‘Loose talk, foul language Modi’s habit’
Using loose talk and foul language is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s habit, which can’t change at this age, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said on Thursday.
“The PM has lowered the level of political dialogue. He stoops low to humiliate the opposition parties, treating them as personal enemies. He has destroyed the basic culture of democracy. Staring at defeat ahead, the PM is now bewildered and is saying anything. The Congress can’t go to his level to respond to the remarks made by him,” said Sharma, the deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, who was in Mumbai to release the party’s election manifesto on Thursday.
Calling the Congress manifesto an eyewash, the PM said the party was supporting those harming the country.
Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, too, questioned the feasibility of Congress’ ambitious Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) scheme.
In response, Sharma said, “The Congress is better than the BJP in fiscal prudence… When Dr Manmohan Singh became the PM in 2004, our GDP was 460 billion dollar and when the Congress-led UPA left in 2014 it was 2.2 trillion dollar. After the first industrial revolution, the UK took 20 years to double its GDP. America took 12 years to double and Japan did it in one decade. China was the first country to triple its GDP, while India was the first country to quadruple GDP from 2004 to 2014,” he said
