PM Modi wants Chinese goods to be sold in India, claims Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, 20 April, claimed that although Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks about 'Make in India', he has "destroyed" MSMEs through demonetisation and GST as he wants Chinese goods to be sold in the country and billionaires profit from it.

He also said the BJP government has created "two types of martyrs" and asserted that if voted to power, the Congress will scrap the Agniveer scheme.

At an election meeting in Amroha also attended by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, the former Congress chief alleged that PM Modi worked with full vigour for 15-20 billionaires in the past 10 years.

By diverting people's attention, the "entire wealth of India was handed over to these people. Narendra Modi ji has waived loans worth Rs 16 lakh crore of the billionaires", he claimed.

"They have waived the loans of 10-15 people. Narendra Modi ji has given lakhs of crores to the billionaires. Today, the situation is such that 22 people possess wealth equal to that of 70 crore Indians... Two Indias have been created," Rahul Gandhi said.

"Where does the money come from? It comes from the GST... These billionaires sell Chinese items in India. On one hand, Narendra Modi talks about 'Make in India' and on the other, he implements demonetisation and GST on people who can make in India -- the small traders and artisans -- and destroys them."

Rahul Gandhi claimed, "He does not want any 'Make in India'. He only wants 'make in China'. He wants Chinese items to be sold in India and the billionaires profit from it."

The Congress leader said that if the INDIA bloc wins the Lok Sabha polls, it will give the money to the poor.

"The media says that if the loans of farmers are waived, it will spoil them. But, it does not say so when loans worth Rs 16 lakh crore of billionaires are waived by Modi. What I am saying is if their (billionaires') loans are waived, then the loans of farmers should also be waived," he said.

Speaking about the youths, Rahul Gandhi said, "There are 30 lakh vacant posts in the Government of India. We will hand over the 30 lakh vacant posts to you."

About the Agniveer scheme, he said that earlier youngsters employed by the Army were assured of pension, canteen facilities and the status of martyr in case of death.

"PM Modi has stopped all these and two types of martyrs have been created. If an Agniveer attains martyrdom, he will not be given the status of a martyr, neither will he get a pension," Rahul Gandhi said.

He said an Agniveer receives six months of training while a Chinese jawan is trained for five years and "the results are known to you all."

"When we form a government, we will scrap this Agniveer scheme. The Army did not want the Agniveer scheme. This was the decision of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister's Office made the scheme," Rahul Gandhi told the gathering.

About the Congress' commitment to empowering women from poor families by providing them with financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh annually under its proposed Mahalakshmi Yojana, he described the scheme as a revolutionary step.

"No government in the world have even thought of doing it. Once we implement this, the governments of other countries will line up, and implement this revolutionary step."

Elaborating further on the scheme, he said, "Under the Mahalakshmi scheme, we will make a list of poor families in India. In every poor family, we will select one woman and transfer Rs 1 lakh to her bank account annually i.e. Rs 8,500 per month."

He also promised to double the salaries and honorarium of Anganwadi and ASHA workers if the Congress is voted to power.

The former Congress chief described the general elections as a fight of ideologies.

"On one side there is the INDIA bloc and on the other is the BJP and the RSS. This is a fight of ideology. The INDIA bloc is protecting the Constitution and democracy while the people of the BJP and RSS are engaged in destroying the Constitution and democracy.''

"BJP leaders said that they will change the Constitution if they win the elections. But I want to tell them that no power in the world can change the Constitution of India," Rahul Gandhi said.