Rahul Gandhi hit back at Prime Minister Modi on Thursday saying that he doesn’t mind being ridiculed as long as the PM answers citizens’ questions about his alleged corruption, and takes responsibility for attacking the poor with demonetisation.
“In Gujarat on Wednesday, I asked him two to three questions about his corruption,” Rahul said, referring to his allegation that the PM took huge payoffs from industrialists when he was chief minister of Gujarat.
“He didn’t answer any of those questions. Instead he ridiculed the questions. Make fun of me all you want, but you have to answer citizens’ questions,” Rahul said while addressing a rally in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich district.
Earlier on Thursday, the PM ridiculed Rahul and his statements about a political earthquake and said- without naming the Congress vice president – that his joy has had no bounds since he learned how to give speeches.
“I have to quote (Urdu poet Mirza) Ghalib to reply to that: har ek baat pe kahte ho tum ki tu kya hai. Tumhi kaho ye andaaz–e-guftagu kya hai,” the 46-year-old Congress leader said reacting to PM remarks.
The Congress leader said the scrapping of high-value notes was not a move against corruption and black money, as Modi claims, but against the poor.
“How many black money holders have been put in jail by Modiji? Not even one; he instead made Modi and Mallya run away,” the Congress leader said referring to Lalit Modi and loans defaulter Vijay Mallya.
He also accused the PM of being callous and unconcerned about the poor.
“Modiji said thieves are standing in bank lines. I saw these people today, Mr PM. They are not thieves they are the honest poor… 94% of black money is in gold and land; why did PM Modi go only after cash,” he asked.
“I didn’t see one rich person in line…one suited-booted person. Demonetisation has been an assault on the poor by Modi,” Rahul added.
