Jaipur : Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged that the Narendra Modi-led government is ignoring the poor and favouring certain industrial houses by offering them projects on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis for their benefit.
Rahul, who undertook a nine-km-long padyatra in Hanumangarh district on Thursday in north Rajasthan, also vowed that he would not allow the central government to acquire “even an inch of land” as he reached out to the farmers of Rajasthan with the foot march.
Rahul also attacked Modi for his “silence” on corruption.
He said that poverty alleviation was low on the priority list of the central government, adding that the party has almost scrapped the world’s largest employment programme, MNREGA. He further said that the BJP-led government at the Centre is scrapping all the welfare programmes started by the Congress one by one.
“No new programmes are being offered and the poor feel neglected. Corruption is high and has made the prime minister eat his words,” Rahul said.
He said that, during the Lok Sabha election campaign, Modi would say, “Naa khaononga, naahi khane doonga.” But the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh had exposed weaknesses in BJP-ruled states, Rahul added.
“The Land Acquisition Bill is anti-farmer and we oppose it. This bill is going to help only industrialists, and the BJP government is driven by a corporate culture. The failure of the BJP government on various fronts has given the Congress enough issues to raise both in Parliament and in the Vidhan Sabhas,” Rahul said.
“You are being subjected to oppression. I have come here today to assure you that the Congress party will fight the BJP and NDA not just in Rajasthan but in the entire country,” he added.
Prakash Bhandari
