Watchman with '56-inch chest' lost historic opportunity given to him: Rahul slams PM

Ahmednagar: Rahul Gandhi on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that the "56-inch watchman" failed to use the historic opportunity bestowed on him after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections to uphold the promise of providing employment.

"Prime Minister had a historic opportunity. He was supposed to work for the youth as without them the progress of the country is not possible. It is very important to give employment to the youth. But the 56-inch chest watchman failed to keep his promise of providing 20 million jobs," Rahul Gandhi said in an election rally here.

"The youth of the country is ready to face the challenges. They all are capable of competing against China they believe in Made in India concept. But, the Modi government is not cooperating with them. Therefore, we have decided that youth would not be required to take any permission for at least three years to start their business," he said.

Claiming that people are fed up of fake promises of PM Modi and now calling their chowkidar (watchman) a chor, Rahul said: "Every election has its own importance, but the 2019 Lok Sabha elections have a special significance. In 2014, Modi ji was blessed with the absolute majority so that he could fulfil all the promises. As he failed, the slogan of "chowkidar chor hai" (watchman is a thief) is now being spread across the country."

He also claimed that Prime Minister helped Anil Ambani, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi with crore of Rupees. "If a poor person takes a loan from a bank and fails to pay it back with interest then he is put behind bars but Mehul Choksi, Anil Ambani, Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi are roaming around freely. PM Modi waived off loans of wealthy people but what about poor farmers?" Gandhi scion asked.

Rahul also took the opportunity to talk about the Nyunatam Aay Yojana (NYAY) scheme promised by his party in its manifesto for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls. "We are not making fake promises, we will provide Rs 72,000 per year to poor families," he said.

Continuing his tirade against PM Modi for implementing GST and demonetisation, Rahul said: "Gabbar Singh Tax and demonetisation have deteriorated the economy of this country and middle-class families and poor have been affected the most. Several factories have been shut down due to less demand for the products in the market."

"I cannot give you Rs 15 lakh to your account. But we will send Rs 3 lakh 60 thousand will be sent to the accounts of 25 crore people. This is to give PM Modi a message if you will help five rich people, we will help common people," he said.

Promising farmers better Minimum Support Price (MSP) and facilities, Rahul said: "Soon after coming into power, Congress will make a separate budget for farmers and we will tell the farmers beforehand what we can do for them."

Polling for 17 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra will be held on April 29.