Addressing a gathering at Udaipur in poll-bound Rajasthan, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of shaping the Army’s 2016 surgical strike across the LoC into a political asset.
He said, “Like during the Narendra Modi government, surgical strike was conducted thrice during Manmohan Singh government. Are you aware of it? Modi actually reached into the Army’s domain and shaped surgical strike into a political asset.”
Rahul Gandhi also claimed that non-performing assets (NPA) of banks was Rs 2 lakh crore during UPA rule and it rose to Rs 12 lakh crore during the BJP government at the Centre.
“The government waived loans of 15 to 20 industrialists. Banking system is concentrated only for them. NPA is not of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, traders, doctors or lawyers,” the Gandhi scion added.
The Congress president also alleged that the surgical strike was made public as the BJP was fighting elections in Uttar Pradesh. “Demonetisation was a scam, which opened doors for big companies. Demonetisation and the GST shattered the economy and broke common man’s back. It opened doors for big companies,” he said, alleging that the BJP government at the centre failed to create job opportunities for the youth.
When asked about data privacy, Rahul Gandhi asserted that IT companies have understood that India and China has large data. “Data should remain with people and not crony capitalists. That is our belief,” he noted.
Claiming that even though India has medical insurance schemes like Ayushman Bharat, it does not have good hospitals, the Congress president said, “We cannot run the country without pumping money into public health and education sectors.”
In the end, he said, “India will surpass China if we have the right government for next 15-20 years. Respect those who have skills, India will surpass China.” “China has a lead but we have not lost the competition,” he concluded.
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