Modi, Anil Ambani will be convicted when Congress comes to power: Rahul

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on March 12 said there will be an investigation into the Rafale deal if the party comes to power in the upcoming general elections. Speaking to the reporters in Chennai, Rahul said the probe will lead to ‘the conviction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Anil Ambani in the Rafale issue’.

He began the press conference by attacking the PM for ‘not having the guts to address the media’ like him. Rahul also promised that 33% of government jobs at all levels will be reserved for women if the Congress comes to power. Making such a claim on women representation for the first time, he said, “not just in Parliament and state legislatures, Congress will reserve 33% of all posts and vacancies for women in central government, central government organisations and public sectors.”

This claim by the Congress president came a day after Mamata Banerjee announced to field nearly 41% of women candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. However, the leader did not elaborate on the reservation for women candidates within his party.

Highlighting on the issue of jobs and unemployment, Rahul came down heavily on the BJP government when he stated, “Modi is a flop show when it comes to job creation.” “Economic growth is directly related to the mood of the country. Modi and BJP do not understand this… The prime issue in the upcoming elections would be unemployment.”

Claiming that there is a problem with the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Rahul promised that the Congress would simplify GST, if elected to power. Adding that Modi has destroyed the jobs through GST and demonetization, Rahul said the Congress would work towards creating jobs in MSME. Talking specifically on issues related to Tamil Nadu, Rahul said that the “Tamil Nadu government is being remote controlled by Modi and it is a complete assault on the Tamil people and culture.”

“The BJP wants to run the entire country from Nagpur, the headquarters of RSS. I believe in decentralisation. I don’t think the country should be run from the PMO. I also don’t believe that a state should be run from the CM’s office. I believe in the powers of all offices, including panchayats.”

He also added that there is an attack on the education system. The educational institutions are being suppressed and being forced to play to the tunes of RSS. On NEET issue, he said that is “resolvable. It is something that is discriminatory towards the state of Tamil Nadu. We want to increase the expenditure on education (in the budget). We are discussing with the manifesto committee to make it 6%.”

When a question on the release of the seven convicts in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case was raised, he said, “There is a personal issue which we have dealt.  We don’t have animosity towards anyone. We’ll be happy with the legal process and the courts can decide on it.”