New Delhi: Once again admitting that the previous government at the Centre led by his party had shortcomings "towards its closing day," Rahul Gandhi today pitched for another shot at power, saying a new Congress government "would be a much more decentralised government, that distributes power much more than even the last Congress Government did."
The Congress vice president was speaking at a function organised by industry body PHDCCI and as he has in recent speeches, ripped into the government over its handling of the economy. He described last year's notes ban and new national tax GST, launched this July, as "two quick shots to the chest."
"Commandos in hostage situations fire what is called a double tap, two quick closely placed shots fired at the chest to ensure that their terrorist target is down, is dead. Modi ji and his Government have fired a double tap at the heart of our economy. First Notebandi, bang, and then GST, bang, has crippled our economy," said Mr Gandhi, who asserts that the government's policies have brought small businesses to their knees.
"The PM failed to grasp the basic concept of the Indian economy - All cash is not black and all black is not cash...the PM used his vast power to unleash terror on the citizens of India. To make millions of Indian citizens stand in queues for over two months desperately running from one ATM to another many of them dying in the process, millions losing their jobs and their livelihood. To do all that you surely need someone with a very big chest but a very small heart," the Congress leader said.
The Congress and the BJP face off in a series of key state elections starting with Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat this year, and several others next year before the national elections in 2019. Rahul Gandhi, who is expected to take over as his party's president from his mother Sonia Gandhi later this month, has constructed his election campaign for crucial Gujarat around what he calls the failure of the Modi government on the economic and development front.
"50,000 jobs are created by China every single day. India creates 450. The only force capable of meeting China's challenge is MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Businesses)," Mr Gandhi said, pledging that his party "will always have the humility" to stand with MSMEs. "We will ensure you all get dignity; your troubles are India's troubles. Your successes will drive India forward," he said.
Rahul Gandhi and his party have accused the government of misleading people with this week's presentation on the state of the economy made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and top officials of his ministry. Mr Jaitley and his team said GDP growth, after a slump in the June quarter, is ready for take-off.
"Mr Jaitley addresses press conferences and tries his best to assure the country that 'everything is fine.' He gives us numbers, shows us charts, does detailed presentations and says that by 2019, things will be normal again," Mr Gandhi said, asserting that "trust in this government is dead."
Earlier in the day Mr Gandhi tweeted a rhyme in colloquial Hindi and mocked the government's claims, saying the economy is in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and "Dr Jaitley's medicines are not working." It follows his description of GST as the Gabbar Singh Tax, which he said again today in his speech.
