MP BJP slams Rahul Gandhi's speech, terms it 'visionless'

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday dubbed Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's address at a public gathering here as "visionless and devoid of any commitment".

Holding a four-hour long, 15-km roadshow in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, Gandhi had earlier in the day termed demonetisation as the "biggest scam" of the Narendra Modi government to convert black money into white.

"Rahul Gandhi does politics of allegations while the BJP talks of development. There was no vision in his address nor any commitment," Narottam Mishra, spokesperson of the MP government said Monday.

"It was a totally sponsored programme. Wherever Rahul has gone, the Congress has failed to form a government. We will win a fourth term in MP under the leadership of Shivraj Singh Chouhan," Mishra added.

He also hit out Gandhi for allegedly failing to fulfil a promise made to Kaushal Shakya, a 10-year-old local boy who sells newspapers.

On April 25, 2013, when Gandhi was heading for Raja Bhoj airport in a car, Kaushal approached him and urged him to buy a newspaper.

The Congress chief had taken the newspaper and handed Kaushal a Rs 1,000 note, but the boy returned it, saying he had no change, and he was offering the copy for free.

In May that year, the Madhya Pradesh Congress announced that it was "adopting" the boy and would provide him Rs 1,000 every month as well as a job for his father.

While the local media had, on Monday, highlighted the episode on the eve of Gandhi's visit, the latter made no mention of the youngster during his visit this time.

"Kaushal was adopted by Rahul but he failed to say anything about him," Mishra alleged.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) state convener Alok Agrawal too slammed Gandhi's speech Monday at the Dusshera Maidan.

He asked why the Congress had failed to implement the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission report when the UPA was in power.