You have created two Indias - one for extremely rich, another for the poor: Rahul Gandhi attacks government in Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday targeted the Modi government in

Parliament

and charged it with creating two Indias - one for the extremely rich and the other for the poor.

"The gap between the two Indias is widening. Today, 10 people have more wealth than 40% of India," Rahul said in

Lok Sabha

.

The former Congress president attacked the government over

unemployment

and accused it of destroying the unorganised sector and the medium and small scale industries.

"The government has repeatedly attacked the two sectors that had the potential to create jobs with its wrong policies like demonetisation, wrong GST and no support during the corona pandemic," Rahul Gandhi said.

"You talk of Made in India, Start-Up India, but the youth didn't get the employment they were supposed to. The one they had has disappeared," Rahul said.

Citing figures, Rahul claimed that there has been 46% drop in manufacturing jobs in India.

"Today, the income of 84% of Indians has reduced," Rahul claimed.

Stating that the rate of unemployment is highest in India at present, Rahul Gandhi said the government has pushed back over 20 crore people into poverty.

"There was not a single word on unemployment in the Presidential address. The youth across the country is looking for jobs. Your govt is unable to provide them with one," the Congress MP said.

"UPA Govt pulled 27 crore people out of poverty in 10 years. This is not our data, this is factual data. You pushed 23 crore people back into poverty," Rahul Gandhi said.

Rahul also accused the government of creating monopoly in the formal sector.

"One person has got all the ports and airports of India, power transmission green energy and the other person has all of telecom, retail, ecommerce, and petrochemical business," he said.

'Judiciary, EC being used as instruments to suppress voices of states'

Rahul Gandhi accused the Centre of suppressing the voices of the states and alleged that the judiciary and the election commission were being used in the process.

"Judiciary, election commission, pegasus are all instruments of destroying the voice of the Union of states," Rahul alleged in his speech in Lok Sabha.

"Those who think that India can be ruled by a stick from the Centre should know that everytime this has happened the stick has been broken," the Congress leader said.

Rahul said that the idea of a king, which the Congress had removed in 1947, has come back and warned the Centre of a severe backlash from the states.

Responding to Rahul's 'King' swipe at PM Modi, parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi said "I want to say that he is getting the opportunity to speak as Congress leader because of the Gandhi family but PM Modi has won people's hearts and is a democratically elected leader."

Rahul Gandhi should immediately apologize: Law minister Rijiju

Rahul's remarks on the Election Commision and the judiciary evoked a strong retort from law minister Kiren Rijiju, who asked the Congress leader to apologize.

"Not only as India’s law minister but also as an ordinary citizen, I condemn what Mr. Rahul Gandhi has said about India’s judiciary and EC. These are vital institutions of our democracy. Mr. Rahul Gandhi should immediately apologise to the people, judiciary and EC," Rijiju said in a tweet.



(With inputs from agencies)


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