'Boxer' Modi punched Advani instead of fighting unemployment: Rahul Gandhi

Taking a swipe at Narendra Modi over his government's policies on a range of issues - from economy to agriculture - Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that the ‘boxer’ prime minister had entered the ring to fight unemployment but ended up punching his ‘coach’ and veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani.

Addressing a rally at Haryana's Bhiwani – which is known as India's boxing nursery for sending four boxers from the district to the Beijing Olympics in 2008 - the Congress president accused the ‘boxer PM’ of sidelining Advani, saying the senior BJP leader was "punched in the face" by PM Modi.

#WATCH Rahul Gandhi in Bhiwani,Haryana: Narendra Modi the boxer was supposed to fight unemployment,farmer problems,corruption etc but he instead turned around & punched his coach Advani ji,his team Gadkari ji Jaitley ji, then went into crowd and punched small traders and farmers pic.twitter.com/jiJAmVxqzO

— ANI (@ANI) May 6, 2019

 "A boxer Narendra Modi, who boasted of his 56-inch chest, entered the ring to fight unemployment, farmers' issue, corruption, and other issues," the Congress chief said.

"For the last five years, this boxer has hit India's poor, weaker sections, farmers and now people are saying they do not want this boxer. He failed to understand who is he fighting against," said Gandhi, accusing Modi of "betraying" the people of the country.

"Narendra Modi's coach Advani Ji, other team members like Gadkari were there... Modi entered the ring and the first thing he did was to deliver a punch on Advani's face," he said, adding that the prime minister had "insulted" the senior BJP leader.

Gandhi emphasised that this ‘boxer’ not only knocked out Advani but also small shopkeepers with demonetisation and Gabbar Singh Tax referring to the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"Entire country knows how adversely these decisions hit them," he said.

The "boxer PM" did not stop here, and delivered a punch to the farmers who were seeking a hike in crop MSP as well as a loan waiver.

"After this, the people were left bewildered at what this boxer was doing because he had no idea what he had to fight against," said the Congress chief said.

"Now, the knocked out boxer is lying on the floor of the ring and punching in the air," he said, adding that the people of the country are going to vote Modi out of power.

The Congress chief reiterated the alleged wrongdoings in the Rafale jet deal claiming that Modi gave Rs 30,000 crore to an industrialist's company.