Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav hit out at PM Modi for ‘ignoring’ farmers, youngsters

PTI, May 14, 2024, 8:55 PM IST

Jhansi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of working for ‘arabpatis’ and ignoring farmers and unemployed youngsters.

Addressing a joint rally near the Rani Jhansi fort here, the alliance partners said they would work for the youths and farmers if the I.N.D.I.A. bloc government comes to power.

The Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP), both part of the opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc, are contesting the Lok Sabha election as allies in Uttar Pradesh. The joint rally was held to campaign for the Congress’ Jhansi candidate Pradeep Jain and the SP nominee from neighbouring Hamirpur Ajendra Rajput.

In a scathing attack on Modi, Gandhi said the prime minister had promised to make 100 ‘smart cities’ in the country but ‘did nothing in this direction’. He further said that the prime minister asked people to beat thalis to ward off Covid-19 when hundreds were dying due to the deadly disease.

Yadav claimed that trends of the four phases of parliamentary polls were proof that the ‘BJP’s graph is going down’ and the party is certain to lose.

Gandhi claimed that if the BJP came to power again, it would ‘tear’ the Constitution, which is the shield of the country’s poor.

Both Hamirpur and Jhansi would go to polls in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election on May 20.

The Congress leader further claimed that the Modi government waived loans amounting to Rs 16 lakh crore, which is equal to 24 years of money allotted under the MGNREGA, for 22 ‘arabpatis’ (top industrialists).

He also said that if the INDIA bloc comes to power, a list of poor families would be compiled and Rs 1 lakh annually — or Rs 8,500 per month — transferred in the bank account of one woman in each such family.

Gandhi also promised one year of apprenticeship in government offices and public sectors for unemployed youngsters and their permanent recruitment after that based on merits.

He said if the I.N.D.I.A. bloc came to power, it would do away with the existing five slabs of GST and make it just one slab.

The Congress leader promised to scrap the ‘Agniveer scheme’ and restore permanent employment in the armed forces with pension provisions.

Yadav also accused the incumbent government of ‘letting down farmers and youths’.

He said the frequent question paper leaks in Uttar Pradesh have put the future of the youths in jeopardy.