LoP in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi addresses a public meeting ahead of Jharkhand Assembly elections, in Simdega district of Jharkhand, Friday, November 8, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Continuing his campaign in Jharkhand, top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that demonetisation and GST rolled out by the Narendra Modi government were "weapons to kill" farmers, labourers and the poor of the country.
Addressing rallies in Jamshedpur and Dhanbad's Baghmara, he also said that the Congress and I.N.D.I.A. bloc are committed to conducting caste census, come what may.
Accusing Modi of funding capitalists who make investments abroad, he said in Jamshedpur, "The policies of Narendra Modi are responsible for spreading unemployment in India. Demonetisation, GST are weapons to kill the poor, farmers and labourers."
Emphasising that the "battle is on in India between violence and unity", he also alleged that the RSS-BJP are playing politics to divide India on the basis of caste, religion and language but the Congress "wants to protect the Constitution".
In Baghmara, Rahul alleged that the Union government formulated a tax structure designed to "loot the poor". He said, "The whole structure of tax is a way of taking money from the poor people of the country. Adani pays taxes equivalent to you. Dharavi land, worth Rs 1 lakh crore, is being handed over to him."
"Prime Minister Modi travels in seaplanes, goes inside the sea, but the poor and women bear the brunt of price rise. The Prime Minister of India does not go to see and meet the poor, farmers, Dalits, backwards, tribals. The Prime Minister only meets Adani and Ambani. We will give to the poor funds equivalent to debt of capitalists waived by Modi," Rahul said.
On caste census, he said OBCs, Dalits and tribals do not have adequate representation in the decision-making process and "the best way to change this is by caste census as this will let the country know as how many backwards, tribal and Dalits there are in the country and how was the country's wealth distributed."
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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