Congress party vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday blew his party’s poll bugle for upcoming Gujarat Assembly polls and that too from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home district Mehsana in north Gujarat. The Congress vice-president accused the Prime Minister of accepting over Rs50 crore from business houses ahead of 2014 General Elections.
Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too had slapped the same charge on Modi.
launching the attack on Modi, Rahul — during his 45 minutes speech at a jam-packed ground situated near Kalapinagar in Patidar dominated Mehsana town — alleged that as per the records of the Income-Tax department, the PM received Rs40 crore from Sahara Group during October 2013 to February 2014 in nine instalments.
The Congress vice-president rolled out dates when Modi allegedly received money in two Rs2.5 crore and seven Rs5 crore instalments during his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister.
The I-T Department got the information about money given to the former Gujarat CM from the Sahara Group’s diary on November 22, 2014, during a raid, claimed Rahul while demanding an independent enquiry.
He went on to say that even the department acquired a written record of Birla Group mentioning that Rs 12 crore out of Rs 25 crore was paid to Modi.
“You questioned people’s honesty (by demonetisation). Now questions are being raised over your credibility. Modiji you have to tell the nation whether the allegations are true or not,” Gandhi said.
Ahead of the public meeting, Gandhi offered prayer at Goddess Umiya temple in adjoining town Unjha. Ihis first visit to Gujarat, post-demonetisation, Gandhi also raised local issues of pro-quota Patidar agitation and Dalit flogging in the State in brief and straight away shifted focus on burning issue of demonetisation saying that banning Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes were against the majority of people.
“Modi has divided the people in two parts. On one hand 99 per cent population of the nation comprising poor and middle class and on the other 1 per cent rich people who control 60 per cent of country’s wealth. Instead of targeting 1 per cent affluent class, PM Modi’s demonetisation move put 99 per cent people in troubled water,” he said.
The Modi Government is run by mere 15 to 20 people, claimed Gandhi, adding that demonetisation helped those 50 families (industrialists) who were flying across the globe with the Prime Minister.
Trying to strike a chord with the large gathering at Mahesana, he asked the crowd where the black money was and instantly replied, “All black money are not in cash. The cash portion is meagre six per cent. 94 per cent parked in real-estate, gold, diamond and foreign bank accounts. The parked black money is with the 1 per cent rich people. Modiji knows it very well but he targeted 99 per cent people and made them stand in long queues.”
He also compared Modi’s ‘surgical strike on black money’ with US Government’s strategy of dropping fire bombs on enemy nations major cities during World War II.
“One per cent rich people have taken loans worth Rs 8 lakh crore from banks. Instead of recovering money from them, the 99 per cent innocent people are being punished. Demonetisation was a well thought out plan to give benefits to those 50 families at the coast of poor, farmers and middle class people,” he added.