Congress president Rahul Gandhi Friday launched a tirade against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, alleging they are "openly indulging in graft" and taking decisions only after "permission" from their industrialist friends.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi Friday launched a tirade against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, alleging they are "openly indulging in graft" and taking decisions only after "permission" from their industrialist friends.
Addressing a poll rally in Singh's home turf Rajnandgaon, Gandhi asserted his party would act against the "corrupt" and write off debts of farmers if elected to power in Chhattisgarh, which is being ruled by the BJP for the past 15 years.
At another rally in the poll-bound state ahead of the first-phase voting on November 12, he alleged, "In Delhi, Modi ji has 10-15 industrialists friends and similarly Chhattisgarh CM has 10-15 big businessmen friends. Modi ji and Singh never do any work until they take permission from these 10-15 friends." The Congress has been accusing the Modi government of indulging in crony capitalism from time to time, a charge which has been vehemently denied by the saffron party.
In the rally in Rajnandgaon, Gandhi accused Modi of pitching for industrialist Anil Ambani in the Rafale deal and referred to former France President Francois Hollande's reported remark to drive home his point. A French media report had in September quoted Hollande as purportedly saying that the Indian government proposed the Ambani-led Reliance Defence as the off-set partner for Dassault Aviation in the Rs 58,000-crore Rafale jet fighter deal and Paris did not have a choice.
The Reliance Group has denied allegations of Reliance Defence benefiting by thousands of crores in the Rafale deal.
Dassault, the makers of Rafale jets, has also said it had made the decision to partner with Reliance Defence for the deal.
Gandhi also targeted Raman Singh over his government's alleged chit fund scam, civil supplies scam and his son Abhishek Singh, who is accused of holding offshore assets.
"The truth is be it Raman Singh or Narendra Modi, they openly indulge in corruption. Be it Rafale or chit fund scam," Gandhi said.
"Pakistan put (former PM) Nawaz Sharif in jail (after revelations in Panama Papers). But the name of Raman Singh's son, Abhishek also emerged in Panama. When the Congress government will come (to power), action will be taken. Be it in Delhi or Chhattisgarh, whoever has indulged in corruption, we will put him behind bars," he said.
The Panama Papers refer to 11.5 million leaked documents published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists with details of offshore entities set up by a Panamanian legal firm.
The papers had named several world leaders and celebrities as having stashed money abroad in offshore companies. They also included details of entities set up by some Indian nationals.
In the past, Abhishek Singh has termed allegations against him with regards to Panama Papers as "baseless and politically motivated".
Gandhi attacked the BJP-led central government over the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which he alleged, was rather a 'Gabbar Singh Tax'.
The Congress chief told the gathering he did not want to make false promises to the people of the state like the ruling BJP had allegedly made.
Gandhi said his party had promised farm loan waiver during polls in Punjab and Karnataka and kept its word after coming to power in the two states.
"If elected to power, Congress will write off debt of each farmers in Chhattisgarh in 10 days," Gandhi told the gathering.
He also promised to give bonus to farmers if the Congress comes back to power in the state, where it has been in opposition for the past 15 years.
Elections to the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly will be held in two phases - on November 12 and November 20 - and counting of votes will take place on December 11.
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