JAIPUR: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused him of not only destroying the Indian economy but also ‘destroying India’s global image’ as a peace-loving country.
The former Congress president, who was in Jaipur addressing the Yuva Aakrosh rally on Tuesday, blamed the BJP-led government at the Centre of creating an image for India that deterred investors.
Political circles are abuzz that the youth rally is a part of the Congress top brass’ script to ensure Rahul’s return to the top post in the party. Rahul said PM Modi does not understand the economy, especially issues of unemployment and the rural sector. He asserted that while the economy was growing at 9% during UPA times, under Modi, GDP has slumped to under 5% according to new ways of estimating it.
As he went on to target the government on the economic slowdown, he said that the PM ‘probably hasn’t studied or understood economics’. “Ask an eight-year-old whether demonetization was harmful or beneficial, they will tell you it was harmful.” Rahul suggested that the US, Europe and other regions are looking at India as a manufacturing hub as a ‘balance’ to China. “The companies which are there in China want to invest in India. But they say that earlier peace prevailed in India but today there is violence,” he said. Addressing the rally, Rahul also said wherever Modi goes he talks of CAA, NRC and NPR but not on ‘real issues’ like unemployment. The rally is significant as it is one of the biggest non-election public meetings that Rahul has addressed outside his constituency of Wayanad in the last six months since he resigned as the party president.