CHANDIGARH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi waived loans worth Rs 16 lakh crore of 22 rich people in the last 10 years but could not give Rs 9,000 crore to Himachal Pradesh to deal with the disaster caused by monsoon rains last year, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday.
Rather than helping the hill state, Modi attempted to “steal” its elected government, Gandhi said, claiming that the Prime Minister “openly announced” at his rallies that he would topple the Congress regime in Himachal Pradesh.
The Congress leader was referring to Modi’s speeches in Nahan and Mandi on Friday, in which the PM claimed that the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh would not last long. “The prime minister is saying he will bring down the Himachal Pradesh government by stealing, giving money and through corruption,” Gandhi said, alleging that “stolen” governments were formed in Goa, Arunachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Seeking support for the Congress’ Hamirpur candidate Satpal Raizada in Una, Rahul accused Modi of increasing unemployment by helping people like Adani, finishing small and medium businesses, through demonetisation and GST implementation.
Earlier addressing a rally at Nahan in Sirmaur district, Rahul said, “Modi waived loans worth Rs 16 lakh crore of 22 people in the last 10 years but could not give Rs 9,000 crore to Himachal Pradesh to deal with the disaster caused by monsoon rains.”
He said Modi handed over all storage facilities to one person to control the apple prices. “In Himachal, apple-growers fail to get the right price because of the partnership existing between Modi and Adani. All storage facilities have been given to one person who controls the apple price,” he said.
He said, “Modi and BJP leaders are attacking the Constitution. Their party leaders have said they will scrap the Constitution. Our Constitution is the nation’s voice but BJP says they want only Narendra Modi’s voice to prevail.’’
Monopoly on apples
Rahul Gandhi said Modi handed over all storage facilities to one person to control apple prices. “In Himachal, apple-growers fail to get the right price due to the partner-ship between Modi and Adani,” he said.