Rahul Gandhi calls Modi Govt 'suited-booted thieves'

Says Modi Government is only catering to the needs of crony capitalists

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday dubbed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA Government as 'suited-booted thieves', and accused them of looting the people of the country in broad daylight.

"Land is the farmer's mother and so is the sea, and they want to take away your mother from you and give it to somebody else. I used to believe that thieves come at night; they come through the window silently. But I have now realized, thieves also come in the middle of the day, in broad daylight, wearing suits, and those are the biggest thieves," Gandhi told a fishermen convention in Chavakkad in Thrissur.

"They are not picking up a fight with poor fishermen, tribals and farmers; they are picking up fights with the soul of the country. It is important as an opposition leader for me to tell them who they are facing, who they are challenging, because, the consequences will not be good for them. We are going to fight for farmers, fishermen and labourers; we are going to fight for every single person who is weak in this country," he added.

He said the Modi Government is only catering to the needs of crony capitalists.

"The question is not whether they are efficient; the question is who are they being efficient for? We are not scared of Mr. Narendra Modi and his five or six friends. Congress believes in empowering the people of the nation, but the NDA Government has a completely different opinion," Gandhi said.

"We made a law that would allow a farmer to earn from his own land; but the NDA wants to destroy the law that protects farmers. The land has become the gold of India, they (NDA) want to give this gold to their friends, they don't want it to stay in hands of farmers," he opined.

The NDA completed a year in power yesterday, after a historic election victory last year that gave the BJP the first parliamentary majority in 30 years and ended two terms of rule by the Congress Party.