With Karnataka Assembly Elections just five days away, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday held a road-show in Kolar. The Congress party chief rode a bicycle as he led a protest march against the high fuel prices while campaigning in the state.
Protest against rising fuel prices:
Later, standing on a bullock cart, Gandhi addressed a gathering and accused the Narendra Modi-led NDA government of stealing money from the common people to give it to their 'rich friends'. He also asked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to explain why they are not able to reduce the petrol and diesel prices in the country.
"Earlier in international market, the price was USD 140 per barrel, now it is USD 70 per barrel. So lakhs of crores of money is being saved by the government. Where is the money going?" Gandhi asked during the rally.
"Why are you not saying to people that you don't want to put GST on petrol and diesel? You want to take away money from common man and want to give it to your five or ten industrialist friends," he said before the gathering.
"You want to take money from the pockets of those driving scooter, truck, bus and other vehicles in the country and want to give it your rich friends," Gandhi said.
Corruption in India:
Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress leader said, "The stage from which PM Modi speaks of anti-corruption also has people who've spent a time in jails for corruption."
"The amount looted by Reddy brothers from Karnataka is roughly the same amount the UPA had allocated for MNREGA," Rahul stated.
Read | Congress Raebareli MLA Aditi Singh rubbishes wedding rumours with Rahul Gandhi; calls him Rakhi brother
Sufferings of farmers in the country:
Gandhi also expressed his concern for the farmers in the country and slammed PM Modi's prolonged silence on the sufferings of the Indian farmers.
"The farmers of this country are suffering but PM Modi has turned a deaf ear to them," the Congress president said.
Promises and achievements of Congress government in K'taka and failures of BJP:
Praising the Siddaramaiah-led government in the state, he mentioned the success of their various welfare scheme. Gandhi has also promised a house to every person in Karnataka within the next five years and will also focus on creating a network of food-processing plants across Karnataka for the benefit of farmers.
"Karnataka has not forgotten Demonetisation, Gabbar Singh Tax and Nirav Modi and Congress will win in Karnataka as they stood united to defeat the BJP in Karnataka," the Congress chief said as he expressed his beliefs in Kannadigas.
Earlier in the day, the former prime minister Manmohan Singh attacked the Modi government over 'economic mismanagement' and said, "It took years to make the Indian economy the third largest economy... now it is being systematically dismantled."
Read | PM Modi addresses K'taka BJP Yuva Morcha workers via NaMo app; urges to stop violence
Singh was addressing a press conference in poll-bound Karnataka on Monday.
Rahul Gandhi, who is on a three-day visit to Karnataka, is scheduled to address a series of election rallies in Kolar, Bengaluru Rural, Chikkballapura, Tumakuru districts and Bengaluru city.
/newsnation-english/media/agency_attachments/2024-07-23t155806234z-logo-webp.webp){kind=logo}
Follow Us/newsnation-english/media/post_attachments/images/2018/05/07/438077312-rahul.jpg)