Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi today tore into Narendra Modi's 'toffee model' development of Gujarat saying it was nothing but loot of public money.
"Gujarat model of development can be called toffee model or 'gubbara' (ballon) model, which is nothing but loot of public money to benefit big people like Tata and Adani," Gandhi told an election rally in minority-dominated Kisanganj.
In his 20-minute-long speech, Gandhi cited many instances to 'reveal the truth' of the Gujarat model of development and blamed BJP for selling the idea across the country with the aim to make Narendra Modi Prime Minister.
Elaborating his charge of 'toffee model' development by Modi, the Congress Vice-President said he had given away 45,000 acres belonging to poor farmers and the size of Bihar's Purnea district to a single person (Adani) at a rate of Re one per sq metre 'which is equivalent to the price of a toffee'.
He gave away the entire stretch of land at a paltry sum of Rs 300 crore, Gandhi claimed adding prized land equivalent to the size of Mumbai and near the coast was given away to the same person for only Rs 30 crore.
Modi had also provided Rs 10,000 crore loan to Tata Motors for its Nano car project at 0.1 per cent interest, while the common man get loan from banks at 12 per cent interest.
"For every Nano car, the Gujarat government is providing Rs 40,000 assistance," Gandhi said. "The total budget of the Gujarat government on education, health and other welfare is less than Rs 10,000 crore," he asserted.
Gandhi said contrary to the picture of Gujarat painted by BJP a whopping 40 lakh people of that state were below the poverty line and earned less than Rs 11 per day.
"This means a person earning Rs 12 a day is considered rich in Gujarat," he said adding about 40 per cent of Gujarat's population does not have the facility of potable water.
"Hindustan ko ullu banana bandh karo," (stop fooling the people of the country), he said adding one model of development cannot be applicable everywhere.
"Bihar me Bihar model chalega (Bihar model of development will function in Bihar)," he said amidst applause from the audience.
"He claims to know everything. According to him nobody else contributed in the development of Gujarat except him and now he will say the same about the entire country," Gandhi said ridiculing the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate.
This was second election meeting of Rahul Gandhi in Bihar. He had addressed the first one at Aurangabad on April 1.
Today's rally was in support of Congress candidate Maulana Asrarul Haque, who is seeking re-election from Kisanganj.