Rahul Gandhi: Modi has reduced Prime Minister’s Office to status of Publicity Minister’s Office

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday urged people to wage an "ideological battle" against what he called was "politics of division and hatred" unleashed by the BJP.

Addressing a public rally at the Khumpui Academy Grounds near Agartala in Tripura, Rahul Gandhi said that unlike the BJP, the Congress follows the policy of love, unity and solidarity.

"There are two things going on in the country simultaneously. On one hand, there is politics of division and hatred of the BJP and on the other, there is the policy of love, unity and solidarity of the Congress.

"I call upon all party supporters and people to wage this ideological battle against the BJP and help form a Congress government at the Centre by voting for the party in the Lok Sabha elections," he said.

Identifying unemployment as a major issue in the country, the Congress chief said 30,000 people were losing jobs on an average everyday.

"One crore people lost jobs in 2018 alone. In Tripura, there are 7.5 lakh unemployed youths. Nothing is being done for them," he alleged.

Rahul Gandhi reiterated his promise of introducing a minimum income guarantee scheme for every poor person in India if the Congress is voted to power in the general elections.

He described the now-lapsed Citizenship Amendment Bill as an onslaught on the land, language, culture and history of the people living in the north east. "If the Congress forms government at the Centre, we would scrap the bill forever," Gandhi asserted.

The Congress president also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of abetting fugitives like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

"All the thieves of India have turned their black money into white by depositing them into banks during demonetisation. They did this with the help of Narendra Modi," Rahul Gandhi alleged.

He said there was massive corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal, and claimed the prime minister and industrialist Anil Ambani would land in jail if the issue is investigated.

Rahul also exuded confidence that the Congress would return in power in Tripura "very soon".

He added that if the Congress forms the next government, it would reinstate special category status for the northeast, make Tripura more connected with the rest of the country and ensure direct funding from the Centre for the the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomus Distrit Council.

Unsparing in his assault on Modi, Rahul also wondered whether the prime minister ever studied at a university, and alleged educational institutions were undergoing saffronisation under his watch.

Attacking Modi over alleged loss of employment opportunities, the Congress leader said the prime minister had claimed on taking over the reins of the government that two crore jobs will be created every year, but one crore jobs were lost in 2018 alone. Over 30,000 jobs were lost on an average every day, he claimed.

A Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) report had recently claimed 1.09 crore jobs were lost in the country in the past one year.

The Modi government is under fire from opposition parties as also allies like the Shiv Sena over alleged job loss.

"Modi has reduced the Prime Minister's Office to the status of Publicity Minister's Office as he is busy marketing himself," he earlier said during an interaction with students in Imphal, where he also accused the Centre of saffronising educational institutions.

During the interaction, he claimed nobody knew whether Modi ever went to a university.

"We still have no access to his university degree.

Nobody actually knows if he went to university or not. There is an RTI (application) in Delhi seeking PM's degree but it has not been responded to," Gandhi said, adding "the prime minister is imposing mediocrity on a sophisticated country".

Speaking about the unrest at the Manipur University last year after students and teachers demanded removal of the then vice chancellor AP Pandey over his alleged "anti-academic activities", Rahul said he was happy that the people of Manipur succeeded in forcing him out. The protests for the ouster of Pandey, who allegedly had RSS links, had led to the closure of the university for three months.

"He (Pandey) was imposed on you. The only qualification to run a university (now) is to wear a pair of shorts, wield a 'lathi' (stick) and spread hatred," Gandhi said, in an oblique reference to the RSS.

Rahul Gandhi said an ideological battle was being fought in the country between the "politics of hatred and policy of love", with the BJP and the Congress on rival sides.

"There are two things going on in the country simultaneously. On one hand, there is politics of division and hatred of BJP, and on the other hand there is the policy of love, unity and solidarity of Congress.

"I call upon all party supporters and common people to wage this ideological battle against BJP and help the Congress in forming the government at the Centre," he told a rally in Khumulwng, 25 km from Agartala.

As he attempted to retrieve the ground the Congress has ceded to the BJP and its allies in the Northeast, Gandhi, while addressing election rallies in Manipur and Tripura, called the contentious Citizenship (amendment) Bill an "onslaught on the "land, language, culture and history" of people living in the region.

Targeting BJP president Amit Shah over his assertion that the Citizenship Bill will be re-introduced if his party forms the next government, the Congress leader dubbed it as an attack on the culture of the Northeast.

"His (Modi's) party president (Amit Shah) says Citizenship Bill will be imposed on the people of Manipur and the Northeast. These people are attacking your culture. We did not allow the bill to pass. The Congress will defend your culture and the bill will not be passed...it will never become a law," he told the Imphal rally.

Accusing the Modi government of neglecting the Northeast, the Congress leader said, the prime minister's words do not match his acts. "Don't only look east, but act east," he said.

Addressing the election meeting in Tripura, the Congress leader alleged the prime minister was "complicit" in aiding the "theft" of public money by fugitive economic offenders like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi and Mehul Choksi.

Rahul Gandhi's remark came on a day when Nirav Modi, the main accused in the USD 2 billion PNB scam case, was arrested in London, in a major boost to India's efforts to bring back the fugitive diamantaire. Mallya also faces the prospect of extradition to India to face trial on money laundering charges after the Westminster Magistrates Court rejected his plea against the move.

"All the thieves of India have turned their black money into white by depositing them into banks during demonetisation. They did this with the help of Narendra Modi," Gandhi alleged, as he targeted the prime minister over the note ban