Rahul hits out at Mamata's claim of Congress not fighting BJP

KARANDIGHI (WEST BENGAL): Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday attacked West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for claiming that his party is not fighting against the BJP and pointed out that her Trinamool Congress had once formed an alliance with the saffron party.

"Mamata ji is saying that Congress is not fighting the BJP. Who raised the Rafale issue? Who brought up the slogan 'Chowkidar Chor hai' (the watchman is a thief)? Congress is fighting the BJP in all the states. We haven't spared an inch of space for them," Gandhi said at a public rally here in West Bengal's North Dinajpur district.

"Congress has never formed an alliance with the BJP in any state. Has it? But Mamata ji has done that. She had formed alliance with BJP before," he said.

During her public meeting in Raiganj on Tuesday, Banerjee had claimed that it is not the Congress or the CPM but her Trinamool Congress which is fighting the real battle with the BJP and said they would take the most important role in ousting the Modi regime from power.

Stating that Congress has kept its promise of waiving farm loans in states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh after it came to power in these states, Gandhi alleged Banerjee has failed to keep her promise in this regard.

"We waived farm loans in all three states within two days of coming to power. Go to any states where Congress is in power and ask whether Congress has really waived farmers' loan or not. Everyone will say we have done that."

"Mamata ji also promised the same. Did she waive the farm loans? No, she hasn't," he said.

Attacking the Narendra Modi government, Gandhi alleged that the current regime at the Centre is busy waiving huge loans taken by big businessmen while the Congress has waived loans of the poor farmers.

"When the big businessmen take loans and do not replay them, they do not go to jail. So I have written in our election manifesto that not a single Indian farmer will be sent to jail for failing to repay farm loans," he said.

"We have waived the farm loans in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh as soon as we came to power there. If BJP can waive loans taken by the businessmen worth thousands of crores of rupees, Congress can waive off loans of the farmers," he added.