Modi is scared, knows election is slipping out of his hands: Rahul Gandhi

Solapur (Maha), Apr 24 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scared and knew that the ongoing general election was slipping out of his hands.

Gandhi was speaking at a campaign rally here in support of Congress' candidate from Solapur, Praniti Shinde, and its ally NCP (SP)'s Dhairyasheel Mohite Patil who is contesting from the neighbouring Madha Lok Sabha constituency.

"Justice needs to be done. Modi has made India the capital of injustice. He is scared as he knows that the election is slipping out of his hands. Due to the electoral bond theft, he knows he will be in trouble after the elections. This is the reason he is continuously speaking lies. But he can not get away this time," the Congress leader said.

People have realised that they have to protect democracy and the Constitution, and the prime minister was aware of this, he added.

Modi was a "leader of billionaires" and not of the poor, Gandhi further claimed.

The prime minister states that he belongs to the Other Backward Class, but when the Congress demanded a caste census, he started saying there is no caste in India, and there are only the rich and the poor, the Congress leader said.

"If that is so, why does he call himself an OBC," Gandhi asked.

The 2024 Lok Sabha election is not a routine election, he said, claiming that the BJP wanted to scrap the Constitution.

"Its objective is not just to win elections, but destroy the Constitution. The INDIA alliance will save our democracy and protect the Constitution," the Congress leader said.

BJP MPs have said in public that the Constitution will be changed if their party wins another term, and without the Constitution nothing will be left for the poor, farmers and labourers, Gandhi said.

The Modi government waived loans of Rs 16 lakh crore of a handful of billionaires, he alleged, adding that this amount could have funded farm loan waiver, or the MNREGA scheme for 24 years.

"Seventy crore population in the country has the same amount of wealth as that held by a handful of billionaires," Gandhi claimed.

Unemployment was at an all time high because one percent of the population owns 40 percent of the wealth in the country, the Congress leader said, adding that if the INDIA bloc is voted to power, it will create "crores of lakhpatis." "The Mahalaxmi scheme (in the Congress manifesto) will provide one lakh rupees every year, which is Rs 8,500 every month, to the women from poor households. Similarly, degree and diploma holders will get the right to apprenticeship in PSUs and other institutions for a year. During that time, they will also get Rs 1 lakh in their bank accounts which amounts to Rs 8,500 per month," Gandhi added.

Demonetisation and the introduction of GST benefitted only a few billionaires, he claimed.

"Farmers wanted loan waiver and Minimum Support Price from Modi. But we will set up a separate commission for farmers which will recommend when they need a loan waiver, and accordingly, it will be done. Besides, when the INDIA alliance comes to power, farmers' loans will be waived in the first instance," he said.

MSP for crops will be legally guaranteed, the Congress leader said.

He also reiterated that apart from conducting a caste census, the INDIA alliance would carry out an economic survey to find out who holds how much wealth. PTI