Just poll rhetoric, mum on jobs, farmers, Rafale: Rahul Gandhi on PM speech

The Congress leadership on Wednesday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech in the Lok Sabha.

UPA chairman Sonia Gandhi said the prime minister said nothing new. “He is repeating old things. But people are interested in their jobs. They want to know about their future,” she said.

PM Modi spoke for 90-minutes in the Lok Sabha in his reply to the motion of thanks to the President’s address. In his speech, the PM attributed much that is wrong with the country to the long years of Congress rule and spoke at some length about corruption.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi said the country had hoped the PM would give a prime ministerial speech, but it was an election campaign speech. “We had raised the issue of (package to) Andhra Pradesh. Second, we had asked questions on the Rafale fighter jet deal. He spoke for more than an hour but nothing on the burning issues facing the country,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi said the PM didn’t allay concerns of the people on jobs. “He spoke about Bengal and Karnataka, but what about his promise of creating 20 million jobs a year. About farmers, he said they have been given bamboo and beekeeping. But the issue is of farmers getting a suitable price for their produce and about waiver of their loans,” Rahul Gandhi said.

The Congress chief said PM’s every speech is about Congress party and its leaders. “But the issues facing the country are different,” he said. Rahul Gandhi said the PM spoke about corruption but didn’t reply to the Congress’s questions on the Rafale fighter jet deal.

“We have asked whether the PM changed the terms of the deal when he went to Paris? Did he take the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS)? And, what is the cost of the fighter plane? This is a fighter jet that will become the spine of the Indian Air Force. The PM spoke of corruption, but he is protecting those who indulged in corruption,” Rahul Gandhi said.