Bhopal: In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi here claimed that having witnessed half the phases of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, the latter has realised he is losing and the defeat is visible on his face.
Gandhi addressed three election rallies in Bundelkhand on Tuesday and claimed with half the election process done, Modi was on the losing side. “Look at his face, it has shrunk,” claimed Gandhi.
Gandhi, who has frequently referred to Modi as a “chowkidar”, said the latter is now reading speeches with the aid of teleprompters. During such interviews, Modi’s aides caution him not to speak about issues of farmers’ crisis, gas cylinders and joblessness as people have realised those are just lies.
Gandhi is currently under the Supreme Court’s scanner for attributing the “chowkidar chor hai” (the security guard is a thief) jibe to it. Earlier in the day, he apologised to the apex court.
“What can I do, wherever I say ‘chowkidar’, the crowd shouts ‘chor hai’,” he claimed.
While the people identifying themselves as “chowkidars” were roaming around in planes, the farmers of Bundelkhand were being forced up to stay up at night to keep a watch on their farms, Gandhi claimed.
“Have you seen any ‘chowkidar’ outside the homes of farmers or jobless youth? They only remain outside the homes of people like Anil Ambani and (Gautam) Adani,” he said. “I don’t want to be a chowkidar, I only wish to follow the public’s orders.”
Slamming Modi on demonetisation, Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the Rafale deal with France, Gandhi said his party would implement schemes such as Nyay that would guarantee minimum income to the poorest in the country. This would provide the maximum benefits to backward regions like Bundelkhand, he said.
“The Nyay scheme will act like a fuel to kickstart the dormant economy,” Gandhi said, adding its benefits will continue until each beneficiary starts earning more than Rs 12,000 per month.
Gandhi said natives of Bundelkhand, reeling under severe drought, have asked him for a special package of Rs 3,800 crore. The region had been offered such a package even though the Congress wasn’t in power in either Madhya Pradesh or Uttar Pradesh.
The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre had allocated a special package worth over Rs 7,200 crore for the region. Alleging huge corruption in its utilisation, Gandhi asked Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath to inquire into the anomalies and give back the money to the region’s residents.
While the Congress had managed to limit petrol and diesel rates even though crude oil prices during the UPA era had hit a high of $140 per barrel, the Modi government did nothing to roll back the prices, with crude price now at $70 per barrel.
“Snatching this money from commoners, PM Modi was giving it to his friends,” Gandhi alleged.
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