PM serving interests of billionaires at expense of poor, alleges Rahul Gandhi

BERMO: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of serving the interests of billionaires at the expense of the country’s poor.

Gandhi, who addressed two election rallies in Jharkhand during the day, also charged Modi with seeking to destroy the Constitution which is the "soul of the country".

The Congress leader claimed that while the opposition INDIA bloc was fighting to protect the Constitution, the BJP was trying to dump it in the trash bin.

"PM Modi says Rahul is flashing a red book. Its content is important, not the colour. Had you read it, you would not have been spreading hatred and dividing society," Gandhi said in a rally in Godda district.

"It is a fight of ideology between the INDIA bloc and BJP-RSS. We are protecting the Constitution and BJP-RSS is trying to dump it in the trash bin. They are spreading violence and trying to divide society on the basis of caste, creed and religion," he alleged.

Addressing another rally at Bermo in Bokaro district, Gandhi accused Prime Minister Modi of seeking to destroy the Constitution which is the "soul of the country".

"The Constitution is the soul of the country. Prime Minister Modi says it is blank inside. Look at this, it has contents. He says Rahul shows a red book; its content is important and not the colour," he said, displaying a copy of the constitution.

The BJP has been accusing the Congress leader of displaying a "fake" copy of the constitution with blank pages at an event in Maharashtra recently.

"PM Modi wants to destroy the constitution, but no power can do it," he said.

Maintaining that he was not "afraid" of Modi or "his 56-inch chest", Gandhi alleged: "He is a puppet of billionaires."

The former Congress president accused the PM of giving lessons to people during the day, while enjoying the weddings of industrialists at night.

Gandhi claimed that the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in Maharashtra was toppled to grab land.

He alleged that Modi was trying to hand over land worth Rs 1 lakh crore in Mumbai's Dharavi to an industrialist.

The Prime Minister worked for the welfare of billionaires in the country and privatised institutions, colleges, industries, hospitals and ports, Gandhi claimed.

"He handed over the country's wealth to 25 capitalists. PM Modi waived Rs 16 lakh crore of debt of industrialists but did not do anything for the poor people, farmers and Dalits," Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha said.

PM Modi rendered the country's youths unemployed through GST and demonetisation, he alleged.

Gandhi said that though PM Modi speaks of his respect for the poor, but does not waive the farm loans.

Advocating for the need for a nationwide caste census, the Congress leader claimed that it would change the face of India.

The caste census would reveal positions of tribals, Dalits and OBCs in various institutions, he said.

The Congress, if voted to power, will ensure caste census and remove the 50 per cent cap on the reservation, Gandhi said.

"If we are voted to power in Jharkhand, we will raise the reservation of STs to 28 per cent from the present 26 per cent, SCs to 12 per cent from the 10 per cent at present and OBCs to 27 per cent from the existing 14 per cent," he said.

Gandhi further alleged that Scheduled Tribes (STs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) constitute 90 per cent of India's population, but they are not represented in government institutions.

He also targeted the BJP over the arrest of JMM leader Hemant Soren, and said, "A tribal CM elected by you was put behind the bars in Jharkhand."

Accusing the BJP of spreading "hate and violence", Gandhi said it can be eliminated through love.

"Ours is a 'mohabbat ki dukan' (shop of love), they have 'nafrat ka bazar' (market of hatred)," he said asserting that he undertook a 4,000-km padyatra from Kashmir to Kanyakumari to "spread the message of love because BJP's hatred and divisive policies could be won by love only.

Meanwhile, Gandhi was delayed for the second meeting at Bermo as his helicopter, which was supposed to take him back after addressing an election rally, was grounded for about two hours, prompting allegations from the Congress that was politically motivated.

"Our leader Rahul Gandhi's helicopter was not allowed to take off for about two hours, posing a grave threat to his life. This was a security lapse at the behest of the Centre," state minister Deepika Pandey Singh alleged.

Officials said the delay was on account of the region's airspace being declared as a "no-flying zone" after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was stranded in Jharkhand's Deoghar airport for nearly two hours after his special IAF aircraft developed a technical snag.

The PM visited Jamui to attend a function marking the 150th birth anniversary of tribal leader Birsa Munda, celebrated as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas.