Mysore: Sharpening his attack on the BJP, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi could give money to 10-15 businessmen, then his party and JDS can do the same by giving money to the poor.
Addressing a joint election rally along with JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda, Rahul, while talking about the NYAY scheme, said that whatever money Prime Minister Modi had ‘snatched’ from the poor and gave it to businessmen like Anil Ambani, the proposed scheme would ensure that the ‘snatched’ money would be returned to the poor.
“Prime Minister Modi talks about farmers in his speeches. He says that he will help and assist them. But did he waive off farmers’ loans. When you deposit your money, you get into a loss, as your money is being snatched by Modi ji and is put inside the pockets of businessmen like Anil Ambani,” he said.
Raking up the BJP’s promises again they made in the 2014 elections, the Gandhi scion said: “PM Modi has been making false promises. He said that he will ensure Rs 15 lakh in every bank account, two crore jobs and setting correct MSP for farmers.”
“He also said–Make me a ‘Chowkidar’ (watchman). But do you see ‘Chowkidars’ outside the houses of farmers, unemployed youth or shops of small shopkeepers. Chowkidar is found only outside the house of ‘Chors’ (thieves) like Anil Ambani.”
Further taking a swipe at PM Modi’s ‘Mein Bhi Chowkidar’ (I too am a watchman) campaign, Rahul said that one ‘Chowkidar’ has “insulted” thousands of ‘Chowkidars’ in the country.
Questioning the motive of implementing GST and demonetisation, Gandhi alleged that the main purpose was to “snatch” money from the common people and put it inside the pockets of his 10-15 businessmen friends.
“This Gabbar Singh Tax (GST) will be removed after we come to power. We will give you a proper GST structure. It will be just one tax structure and not five. If Modi ji can lie on Rs 15 bank account, the truth is you will get Rs 3,60,000 in just five years under NYAY scheme,” Rahul said.
Underlining that the Congress understands the fear and disappointment instilled in farmers, Rahul said that his party will ensure that no one will be put behind bars if anyone fails to repay the debt.
“In Karnataka, we waived off Rs 11,000 crore. I helped crores of farmers in Karnataka. NYAY scheme will ensure that your money snatched by Modi ji is back. It will jump-start the economy once again. We will also ensure that those who fail to pay their loans will not be sent to jail,” he said.
Rahul further said that in order to boost employment in the country, the Congress, if it comes to power, would ensure that 22 lakh vacancies in the government sector would be filled up within a year, and jobs would be given to 10 lakh youth in panchayats.
Asserting that the Congress and JDS came together to defeat the BJP, Rahul said: “The Congress- JDS alliance will together defeat the BJP in Karnataka. Our party workers are putting efforts to ensure that our alliance wins.”
The Congress and JDS are together fighting the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka. As part of the seat-sharing agreement, the Congress will contest 20 Lok Sabha seats and JDS eight out of 28 seats in the state.
Karnataka will go to polls during the second and third phases of Lok Sabha polling on April 18 and April 23, respectively. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]