Rahul labels Chouhan, PM Modi as "announcement", "lying" machines

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday labelled Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an "announcement machine" and a "lying machine" respectively.

Addressing a gathering at the Congress Public Meet here, Rahul said, "In Madhya Pradesh, whenever your Chief Minister comes on to the stage, everyone thinks the 'announcement machine' is here, and there will be some announcement or the other today. 20,000 announcements! On the other hand, Narendra Modi Ji comes on to the stage; everyone thinks he will definitely lie today. Lying machine on one hand, and an announcement machine on the other."

Rahul further aimed a potshot at Chouhan and Prime Minister Modi by saying that while the former did not worry about issues like creating jobs for the youth, resolving farmer issues, etc, "his friend in New Delhi" destroyed the small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with demonitisation and "Gabbar Singh Tax" initiatives taken by him.

The Gandhi scion also hit out at Prime Minister Modi over Anil Ambani's involvement in the controversial Rafale deal, saying, "The Prime Minister said he wanted to be the country's watchman. It turns out that he has been watching out for Anil Ambani."

Rahul is currently on a two-day visit to the poll-bound state. The dates for Madhya Pradesh's 230-seat Assembly elections have not been announced yet and are slated to be held later this year.

Earlier today, the Gandhi scion had intensified his onslaught on the controversial Rafale deal by accusing Prime Minister Modi of choosing the Reliance Defence over state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to benefit Anil Ambani, while also accusing the latter of having not returned Rs 45,000 crore allegedly taken from the Public Sector Banks.