Demonetisation, GST weapons to kill poor: Rahul Gandhi slams PM in Jharkhand

Addressing an election rally in Jharkhand, Rahul Gandhi accused PM Modi of prioritising the interests of wealthy capitalists who invest abroad, while neglecting the welfare of the common man.

In Short

• Rahul Gandhi accuses PM Modi of favouring big businessmen
• Blames demonetisation, GST for harming livelihoods of poor
• Jharkhand to go to poll in 2 phases on November 13 and 20

The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Saturday launched an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that his policies, such as demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST), were "weapons to kill" the livelihoods of farmers, labourers, and the poor.

Speaking at an election rally in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur, Rahul Gandhi said, "Policies of Narendra Modi are responsible for spreading unemployment in India. Demonetisation and GST are weapons to kill the poor, farmers and labourers".

Further in his speech, the Congress leader also said that the ongoing political clash was a fight between two contrasting ideologies — one that the BJP-RSS alliance represents, which he claimed fuels division and hate, and the INDIA bloc, which he said stands for love, unity, and protection of the Constitution.

"There is a fight between two ideologies in the country. On one side is the INDIA alliance and on the other side is the BJP and RSS. On one side there is love, unity, brotherhood and on the other side there is hatred, violence, anger and ego. The INDIA alliance talks about protecting the Constitution, while BJP-RSS is hell-bent on destroying it," Rahul Gandhi said.

The Congress leader further accused PM Modi of prioritising the interests of wealthy capitalists who invest abroad, while neglecting the welfare of the common Indian.

"They aim to take money from the pockets of the poor, farmers, and small businesses and hand it over to the billionaires. Today, Adani and the common man pay the same GST on products they purchase. PM Modi has written off debts worth Rs 16 lakh crore of 25 big businessmen, yet not a single rupee of relief was offered for your loans," the Gandhi scion said.

"Jitna paisa ye arabpatiyon ko dete hain, utna paisa hum apke bank account mei dalenge (The amount that they give to billionaires, we will put into your bank accounts)", he added.

Jharkhand will vote to elect its 81-member Assembly in two phases -- November 13 and 20. Counting of votes will take place on November 23.