Ahead of second phase of C'garh polls, Rahul Gandhi accuses PM of corruption

Continuing his tirade against Narendra Modi ahead of the second phase of polling in Chhattisgarh, Congress President Rahul Gandhi accused the Prime Minister of indulging in corruption to help his 'influential friends'.

"In 4.5 years, loans worth Rs 3,50,000 were waived off for 15 most influential people, but not for the farmers," alleged Rahul Gandhi.

In an attempt to woo farmers, the Gandhi scion promised that if voted to power in the state, the party will waive off farmers' loan apart from issuing new bonuses, along with releasing those due from the last two years.

Raising the issue of land acquisition, Gandhi alleged that due compensation is not given to farmers.

"Your land is snatched away and appropriate compensation is not given. In Uttar Pradesh's Bhatta Parsaul there was a farmer agitation. I went there and joined them. The result of that action was 2013 Land Acquisition Act. Four times the market rate as compensation and mandatory consent of the farmers were the features," Rahul explained.

"Sushma Swaraj supported the in the Parliament with a smile, but when Modi ji came the first thing he did was to scrap the Land Acquisition Bill. Congress has always stood for the bill," he added.

Taking a jibe at the present dispensation under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he called the Central Government, 'suit-boot ki sarkar', implying that they have failed to understand the common man's requirements.

"You must have heard of suit-boot sarkar? So Modi ji got scared and then asked Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan Chief Ministers to scrap the Land Acquisition bill. I promise that when Congress comes to power the bill will be brought back," asserted Rahul.

The Congress President also promised to set up food processing plants in every block across the state.

"Farmers can direct go to food processing factories to get adequate price and youth will get employment there," he said.

Furthering his attack, Gandhi once again raked up the issue of demonetisation. He asked, "Modi ji made all of you stand in queues during note ban. Have you ever seen any influential people stand in queues?"

"Only honest people stood in line. Nirav Modi, Choksi, Mallya and Lalit Modi absconded. Vijay Mallya met Arun Jaitley before he went to London. Choksi gave money for the wedding of Jaitley 's daughter," he alleged.

Gandhi once again spoke on the ongoing Rafale controversy and said that Prime Minister Modi went to France and lobbied for industrialist Anil Ambani.

Attacking incumbent Chief Minister Raman Singh, Gandhi said, "In the PDS (Public Distribution Scheme) scam, a diary recovered mentioned the names of Raman Singh's wife and stated he took bribe. This is the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh."

He also said that in Pakistan, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharrif had to let go of his position after his name appeared on the Panama Papers, however, Raman Singh faced no action even after his son's name came up in connection with an alleged scam.

Ending his speech, the Gandhi Scion said that he had long-standing ties with the state and felt a familial bonding with its people.

The second phase of polling in Chhattisgarh is due on November 20, while the first phase concluded on November 12 and recorded a voter turnout of 70 per cent.

The high-stakes political battle in the state will conclude on December 11 with the counting of votes.