Govt has 'forgotten' poor & middle class: Rahul

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday attacked the government on issues of employment and prices of essentials, saying it has "forgotten" the poor and middle class, and is "busy" in increasing the wealth of capitalists.

He also said that the BJP will not be allowed to divert the attention of people from issues concerning them.

"Tomato: Rs 140 per kg, Cauliflower: Rs 80 per kg, Toor Dal: Rs 148 per kg, branded Arhar Dal: Rs 219 per kg and cooking gas cylinder above Rs 1,100. The BJP government, which is busy in increasing the wealth of capitalists and collecting taxes from public, has forgotten the poor and middle class families," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

Gandhi said the youth are unemployed and if there is any employment, then the income is low and there are no savings due to inflation. "The poor are yearning to eat and the middle class is yearning to save," the former Congress president said.

"Congress-ruled states have reduced prices of gas to provide relief from inflation and have put money in the accounts of the poor for financial assistance," he said.

"The Bharat Jodo Yatra is a pledge to remove hatred, remove inflation, unemployment and bring equality - and will not allow the BJP to divert attention from public issues," Gandhi said and added that for "nine years it is the same question -- after all, for whom is this 'amrit-kaal'?"

The Congress has been attacking the government on issues of unemployment and prices of essentials, and accusing the BJP of polarising society for its politics of hate.