Rahul calls MP India’s corruption capital, says Congress will sweep assembly polls
Congress leader accuses Prime Minister Narendra Modi of lying by saying that the BJP government had established 500 factories in Madhya Pradesh
Calling Madhya Pradesh India’s “corruption capital”, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday asserted that his party will sweep the November 17 Assembly elections in the state.
Addressing a public meeting in Neemuch district, Gandhi accused the state’s BJP government of indulging in rampant corruption.
He also promised a caste census if the Congress took power in the Centre and in states.
Rahul said a Congress government in Madhya Pradesh will provide LPG cylinder at Rs 500, waive farmer loans up to Rs 2 lakh, give electricity free up to 100 units, and pay a minimum support price of ₹2,600 for wheat which will go up to ₹3,000.
He said the Congress had formed a government in the state five years ago but the BJP, “in collusion with big industrialists, stole your government of farmers, labourers and small shop owners.
"This Madhya Pradesh is the capital of corruption in the country,” he added.
Attacks corruption
Rahul referred to a viral video purportedly showing the son of Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and a "middleman" talking about several crore rupees.
"Here (in Madhya Pradesh) BJP MLAs and ministers are also not less. They are competing with Tomar in stealing money from farmers and labourers.”
He claimed that 18,000 farmers in the state had committed suicide due to debts.
The Congress leader charged that demonetisation was carried out to benefit industrialists like Gautam Adani but it hit hard small shop owners and the common people.
Rahul also found fault with the Modi government for failing to check black money.
Targets Modi
The Congress MP accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of lying by saying the BJP government had established 500 factories in Madhya Pradesh.
Has anyone of you seen such a unit in Neemuch, asked Gandhi.
"All these things will not work anymore as there is a wave, and the Congress will sweep the assembly polls in the state,” he said.
Rahul also said that since he began talking about the OBC community, the prime minister, who calls himself as an OBC (community member), had stopped speaking about it.
“Now, Modiji says there is no caste in Hindustan and poverty is the only caste.”
He said that only three out of 90 officers at the Centre were from the OBC category and only one out of 53 officers in Madhya Pradesh were from the OBC community.
If the Congress comes to power at the Centre and in states, the first thing it will do is to conduct a caste census to know the number of OBCs and do justice to them, Gandhi said.
(With inputs from agencies)