Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making a woman in Chhattisgarh lie that her income had doubled.
“This is BJP’s [Bharatiya Janata Party] model,” Gandhi said. “Lie and encourage others to lie,” he said after inaugurating the new Congress office in Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur.
Gandhi was referring to a video interaction Modi held on June 20 with beneficiaries of various government programmes when Chandramani Kaushik told Modi that her income had doubled after she switched from cultivating paddy to growing custard apples. However, a story aired by ABP News Network’s show Masterstroke in July claimed that the woman had been tutored to make false claims. The network’s Managing Editor Milind Khandekar and host of Masterstroke Punya Prasun Bajpai recently resigned, allegedly due to backlash after the story was aired.
The Congress president also claimed that women were not safe in BJP-ruled states. “Atrocities against women have risen alarmingly,” he said. “PM doesn’t utter a word when girls are raped in UP and Bihar,” Gandhi said, according to ANI. “It’s a question which arises not only in yours but also in hearts of all women in India.Why are women being raped in BJP-ruled states?” he said.
Gandhi also attacked Modi for unemployment. “When asked about jobs, PM [Prime Minister] Modi says make pakodas,” he said. “Things are so bad that even Union Minister Nitin Gadkari asked, “Where are the jobs?” Gandhi was referring to an interview from January 20 when Modi suggested that those who sell pakodas outside offices, and earn Rs 200 a day, count as employed.
Gandhi said the BJP’s “remote control” is in the hands of the Rahstriya Swayamsevak Sangh. “In fact, Chhattisgarh is being run from Nagpur.” The RSS’ headquarters are in Nagpur.
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