Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi but made no mention of Union minister and BJP candidate Maneka Gandhi while addressing a meeting of Congress workers in Sultanpur from where Maneka is contesting the Lok Sabha election.
Rahul urged the partymen to ensure victory of Congress’s Sultanpur candidate Sanjay Sinh. “I request you to ensure victory of Sanjay Sinh. He is needed for important work in the Lok Sabha,” said Rahul before winding up his day’s campaign that included public meetings in Amethi and Barabanki, from where senior party leader PL Punia’s son Tanuj Punia is a candidate.
Maneka Gandhi, who is Rahul’s aunt, had recently said she would campaign for the BJP candidate in Amethi if the party wanted her to do so. Will then Rahul, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi or Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra address a public meeting in Sultanpur in coming days?
“Why should Rahul Gandhi make a mention of a candidate of another party? We do not want any such reference. He mentioned my name to the partymen,” said Sanjay Sinh.
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{{/usCountry}}Rahul consistently targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the three public meetings and the two meetings of workers that he held. Slogans like ‘Bring Congress to power for loan waiver’ (Karza maaf karana hai to Congress ko lana hai) and ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ were raised at all the meetings.
Referring to the Rafale deal, Rahul said once the Congress government was installed at the Centre after the 2019 Lok Sabha election results an inquiry would be ordered and the truth would come out. “Two names -- that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Anil Ambani -- will figure after the inquiry,” said Rahul. Rahul said the Congress government would make the press free in the country. “You will be able to write against us too,” said Rahul.
He also took a dig at the PM for failing to keep the promise of depositing ₹15 lakh into the bank accounts of citizens. He said while the PM failed to keep his ‘achchhe din’ promise, the Congress party had come out with the NYAY scheme to give ₹72,000 per annum to about 5 crore poor families. “If Chowkidar can give large sums to big businessmen and industrialists, then the Congress can also give funds to the poor,” he said.
Rahul also referred to other promises made in Congress manifesto and said demonetization had led to a high unemployment rate. “Once we give you NYAY money, the poor will be able to buy things. This will give push to the economy and create jobs,” said Rahul. He said the ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’ imposed by the NDA government had done no good and the Congress would ensure a simpler GST with a single tax slab. Rahul spoke to a 12-year-old boy at Sultanpur and pointed out how the PM failed to understand what the little boy already knew about the demerits of demonetization and NDA’s GST.
At public meetings in Amethi, Rahul said the NDA government at the PM’s behest was giving step-motherly treatment to the people of Amethi and Rae Bareli.
Listing projects like Food Park and others scrapped by the NDA government, Rahul said he would give ‘double’ of what had been taken away from the people of Amethi and Rae Bareli.
Rahul said the Modi government had given food park to Baba Ramdev instead. He said the UPA government had proposed food park comprising about 50 food processing units. “When the Congress government is voted to power, we will ensure a 100 food processing unit park this time,” said Rahul.