Rahul Gandhi on Sunday stepped up his attack against the Narendra Modi government, accusing the Prime Minister of pushing the country back by spreading hatred and fear and undoing the good work done by the UPA to benefit "two industrialists" at the cost of the poor, labourers and jobless youth.
Addressing the 'Mehangai Par Halla Bol' rally at the iconic Ramlila Maidan here, he returned to his pet theme of 'two Indias' – one where the poor, labourers and youth among others cannot dare to dream and the other where a few chosen industrialists who can achieve whatever they wants – as he critiqued the Modi government’s policies.
At the rally against price rise that came three days ahead of the launch of the 3,570 km 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', he said all institutions, including judiciary, media and Parliament, are under attack from the government and the Opposition has only one option but to reach out to people directly.
Rahul linked the increasing hatred and fear to the rising hatred and fear in the country and warned that the country will “explode” to the benefit of neighbours like China and Pakistan. “The BJP-RSS leaders divide the country, deliberately creating fear, hatred…Modi has pushed the country back. He is spreading hatred and fear in the country," he said.
Alleging that Modi was working round the clock for two industrialists, who in turn work for the Prime Minister, Rahul claimed that Modi cannot remain the Prime Minister without their support. Rahul did not mention the industrialists by name.
Asking for whom hatred and fear are spread in the country and whether the farmers and small shopkeepers among others are benefitted, he alleged that the whole benefit goes to the two industrialists. "Airports, ports, roads, cell phones, oil, everything goes to these people. The BJP is giving everything to these two," Rahul claimed.
Comparing the previous UPA and Modi's government, he said the Manmohan Singh dispensation gave a loan waiver of Rs 70 lakh crore to farmers while the BJP regime gave three "black laws" to benefit the two industrialists. He said Modi found fault with MGNREGA in Parliament earlier but its utility was known during the recent times. If not for MGNREGA, he said, the country would have been on fire.
"UPA pulled 27 crore out of poverty in 10 years while the Modi government pushed 23 crore back into poverty. Whatever work we did in 10 years was reversed by Modi in his years. But he is eloquent about development, New India and Make in India and that India has changed," he said.
He said poor people were robbed through demonetisation, which was dubbed as a fight against blackmoney, but one later found out that while money was taken away from the poor but loans of industrialists were written off.
"Farmers did not get loan waivers but got three black laws...At one side, there is unemployment, there is price rise on the other side. India never had such a price rise in 70 years. Modi always asks what Congress did in 70 years. We did not give a price rise of this magnitude," he said.
He said that anyone speaking against the Modi government, whether it is Opposition or activists or NGOs, all are targeted through agencies. "I was made to sit for 55 hours at the ED office but want to tell the Prime Minister, you make me sit 50 hours, 100 hours, ..5 years, doesn't matter, I won't be scared, I am not scared," he said.