JAIPUR: Out in the Jat belt and farmers’ hub under the scorching sun of Rajasthan’s Falodi (Jodhpur) and Anupgarh in Ganganagar, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday took on the government over rising unemployment and spiraling prices of essentials across the nation to highlight the daunting economic realities in his inaugural public rallies for Lok Sabha polls.
He asserted only the INDIA bloc stood as the sole alternative capable of protecting people’s livelihoods.
The Congress leader found unemployment and inflation the paramount issues before the nation. “If you ask people, they will unequivocally say that unemployment is the foremost concern, with inflation closely following it. However, the impression is different outside” he said.
Rahul remarked that it was his duty to amplify public voices as he lamented the media’s “silence” on crucial matters.
He sought to subdivide the country’s population into tribals, Dalits, and minorities. “Most of the population belongs to these groups along with the impoverished lot. He contrasted this section against the disproportionate representation in the upper echelons of India’s corporate sector. He said Modi “forgave” Rs 16 lakh crore owed by the corporates, equating the amount to decades’ worth of funds for labourers under MNREGA.
Promising to redirect wealth from billionaires to the marginalized, he said: “Wealth that Modi has bestowed upon the affluent will be redirected to the impoverished, backward classes, tribals, and Dalits.” He asked why this “forgiveness” doesn’t garner public and media concerns. He also highlighted the vast economic disparity, noting that India’s 22 wealthiest individuals possessed wealth equivalent to that of 70 crore people.
Gandhi lambasted the BJP’s implementation of the GST, arguing that it burdened farmers.
‘Large-scale corruption through electoral bonds’
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of indulging in large-scale corruption through electoral bonds. “Extortion is going on and its name is electoral bonds,” Gandhi said while addressing a rally in Phalodi