‘Modi stole employment from Karnataka’

Our Bureau Updated - March 18, 2019 at 09:37 PM.

Rahul Gandhi said Narendra Modi has been lying that the coalition government failed to waive the loans of farmers in Karnataka

Congress president Rahul Gandhi with senior party leader s during a rally in Kalaburagi on Monday

During an interaction with entrepreneurs and start-up founders here, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said that he was never keen on becoming a techie nor an entrepreneur.

“I was not good enough to be a techie nor dreamt to be an entrepreneur,” came the honest reply to a question from the audience.

“You entrepreneurs carry huge expectation for creating jobs. I am with you highly qualified enterprising people but I am humble. I want to be with those who are suffering,” said Gandhi.

“We are here to deal with each other. I mean all communities with due respect. But now the country is divided and angry. We don’t want a country where people fight among themselves. If it is so, the country cannot go forward. Let’s go back to where we were, to those days of harmonious living,” he added.

Earlier on Monday, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) requested Rahul Gandhi to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Karnataka. In a letter to Gandhi, presented ahead of his rally in Kalaburagi, KPCCI President Dinesh Gundu Rao wrote, “Your candidature from Karnataka will boost the party’s rank and file in entire South India. We take pride to invite you to kindly contest from Karnataka in the coming Lok Sabha election.”

‘Modi is lying’

Rahul Gandhi said Narendra Modi has been lying that the coalition government failed to waive the loans of farmers in Karnataka. Addressing a Parivarthana rally in Kalaburagi in Hyderabad-Karnataka region, the Congress president said: “In Karnataka, both coalition partners have delivered on loan waiver. Modi has not done well and instead he has been lying in front of you.”

Taking a dig at Modi, Gandhi said “The CBI director wanted to launch an enquiry into the Rafale deal but the chowkidhar (watchman) removed him in the middle of the night. The CBI director was once again removed after the Supreme Court had asked him to be reinstated within hours.” Gandhi alleged that Modi stole employment from the youth of Karnataka by not giving HAL a chance to make Rafale. “Karnataka’s youth ask Modi for employment but he stole employment from you. Aircraft had to be made by HAL, and you’d have got jobs, but chowkidaar wanted to give it to Anil Ambani, who hasn’t produced aircraft ever,” he said.

Gandhi alleged that Modi did not increase the MSP every year, which the Congress did when it was in power. He promised to bring GST that will not have five layers of taxation, if voted to power at the Centre. “He (Modi) brought in the Gabbar Singh Tax. Lakhs of small business were affected. I am telling you that as soon as our government comes to power we will give you the true GST that doesn’t have five layers. We can’t do anything about the loss you’ve already faced but we assure you that in the future you won’t have to face this,” he said.

Published on March 18, 2019 16:07