Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Modi government and said that the 'PM tried to give the hard work of the farmers to two-three billionaires'
Addressing a rally in Hoshiarpur, Punjab ahead of the state assembly polls, Gandhi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi couldn't give two minutes of silence in parliament to farmers who died during the protest, nor did he offered any compensation to their families while Congress governments in Rajasthan and Punjab did.
"For a year, Punjab farmers stood hungry in winters as PM Modi tried to give their hard work to two-three billionaires. He couldn't give 2 minutes of silence in parliament to farmers who died during the protest; didn't give compensation, Rajasthan and Punjab government did." he said.
He also said PM Modi does not speak on employment, black money and that unemployment is rising in the country.
"PM Modi said in every speech that he'll deposit Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts, will give employment to 2 crore youth. Did anyone get it? Why does he not speak on corruption or employment? He did demonetization, imposed GST. Who got benefitted?" Gandhi asked.
Earlier this month, Gandhi named Charanjit Singh Channi, a three-time Dalit legislator, as the party’s chief ministerial nominee in Punjab.
In the 2017 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, the Indian National Congress won 77 out of 117 total seats. This landslide victory pushed the ruling alliance between Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to third place with only 18 seats. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came in second, winning 20 seats and forming the official opposition in Punjab.
A total of 117 assembly constituencies in Punjab will be going to the polls to elect MLAs for the 16th Punjab assembly. The schedule for the 2022 Punjab Assembly Election is mentioned below with dates for the polls and counting of votes, as listed in the ECI notification:
The voting in Punjab will take place in one phase on February 20 (Monday).
The counting of votes will take place on March 10, 2022 (Thursday).
