GUWAHATI: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi made a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday for his lofty poll promises and for allegedly doing nothing on the ground.
“I have a friend who needed a computer. He looked for it on the internet and found a company with wonderful photos and other great things written about the brand. So, he placed an order and paid for it. Fourteen days later, a beautiful packet arrived. But when he opened it, he found a piece of wood inside. He has since been asking for refund. This is exactly what happened with the country. Modiji came and had an excellent marketing but there was no product. Till today, India is asking for a refund,” Rahul told people at a rally in Central Assam’s Nagaon.
He said the NDA government has targeted the country’s “honest salaried class” by levying taxes on the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) but has given a free run to black money hoarders. “You spoke about fighting against black money and putting the black money hoarders behind bars. But in Parliament, (Finance Minister) Arun Jaitleyji brings the Fair and Lovely scheme,” Rahul said, pillorying Modi. He said the “thieves” in the country would now be able to convert their black money into white by taking advantage of the scheme. He pledged that the Congress would fight for the salaried class by exerting pressure on the government for a rollback of tax on EPF.
Accusing the BJP of fanning hatred, the Gandhi scion said Haryana was a peaceful and progressive state until BJP grabbed power there. “The Congress was in power in Haryana for 10 years. There was absolute peace and tremendous economic growth. The BJP came and created trouble and unrest. Wherever the party goes, it fans hatred and turns one against the other. This is the difference between them and us,” he said.
Assam, which goes to polls in April, has a Congress government led by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.