Congress president Rahul Gandhi yesterday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of lying to the people and said his party, if voted to power, will revive two closed paper mills in Assam.
Gandhi was addressing a rally near Panchgram in Cachar district of Assam’s Barak Valley. The Congress president campaigned for the sitting Lok Sabha MP from Silchar, Sushmita Dev, who is contesting the forthcoming polls.
Saying that the country needs young leaders from Assam and the northeast, the Congress chief said that Sushmita Dev will be made a minister if the Congress government comes to power.
“The government of Narendra Modi helped only the richest people of the country in the last five years. They had given the keys of Indian banks to the rich people only. Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi, the list goes on,” said Gandhi.
“The BJP has done only ‘anyay’ (injustice) to the poor people,” he said, adding that the Congress will bring the historical NYAY scheme for the poor people of the country.
“We are going to give Rs72,000 per annum to each of the 20% poorest people of the country. Five crore families of the country with approximately 25 crore people will be benefitted from the NYAY scheme,” he said.
“The Narendra Modi-led government failed at all fronts including the promise of depositing Rs15 lakh to everyone’s bank account, proper price to farmers for their produce and employment to 2 crore youths every year,” Gandhi said.
Terming the NYAY scheme conceived by the Congress as a surgical strike on poverty, Gandhi said it did not matter to which religion or community the poor belongs and where he lives.
“A list will be made of these 5 crore poorest families and the Rs72,000 will transferred to their accounts directly,” he said adding that the money will, however, be transferred to the account of women heads of the families.
“The unemployment rate in the country at present is highest in the last 45 years,” Gandhi said.
Targeting the ‘chowkidar’ (watchman) slogan of the BJP, Gandhi said that it is the rich people who need a ‘chowkidar’.
“The poor people of the country do not need a ‘chowkidar’. Narendra Modi is a ‘chowkidar’ of the rich people like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi etc,” said Gandhi.