Sirsa (Haryana): Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday renewed his attack over alleged corruption in the Rafale aircraft deal, this time in response to Narendra Modi calling his late father and former PM Rajiv Gandhi “Bharashtachari No 1”. He also took on the PM over unemployment, taunting Modi for a remark that selling pakodas is a job worth doing. “If you have to talk about Rajiv Gandhi and about me, do so definitely,” Gandhi said at a rally in Sirsa, Haryana. “But first explain what you have done on the Rafale issue. You should also explain to the people your unkept promise of 2 crore jobs for the youth,” he said.
“Did you give farmers the right price for their produce? Did you put Rs15 lakh into bank accounts?” the Congress leader said, claiming that the BJP govt had not fulfilled its election promises. Gandhi said an “industrialist friend” of the PM benefitted from the Rafale agreement, a charge repeatedly rejected by the government. He said the PM who boasted of a “56-inch chest” is not talking about farmers’ issues and unemployment during these elections. In recent speeches, Modi has recalled Rajiv Gandhi’s term as PM, referring to corruption charges against him and the alleged use of warship INS Viraat during a family vacation. He has also brought up the anti-Sikh riots around the time Rajiv took over as PM after his mother Indira Gandhi’s assassination.
Rahul claimed the Congress has shown through farm loan waivers by its governments in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan that the party keeps its promises. He claimed when a BJP leader asked a question at an MP rally if the Congress government there had waived farm loans, the crowd said, “Yes, it has been done.” He claimed unemployment in the country is the highest in decades. “This is Modi’s contribution,” he said. “Make in India, start up India, sit down India, pakodas,” the Congress leader said, mocking the schemes started by the Modi government. “Initially, he talked about Make in India, then Startup India, then Stand-Up India and finally he ended on pakodas,” Gandhi said.
