Rahul Gandhi tears into Modi, calls him ‘bhagidar’, not ‘chowkidar’

Congress president Rahul Gandhi today launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government in the Lok Sabha during debate on the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition. Referring to the Rafale aircraft deal in which Gandhi alleged that the price of each aircraft was mysteriously raised from Rs 520 crore to Rs 1600 crore to benefit a particular businessman, he called Modi “not chowkidar (watchman)” but a “bhagidar (partner)” in the deal.

Incidentally, during the run-up to his election in 2014, Modi had frequently referred to himself as the country’s gatekeeper (chowkidar) when he rode the anti-corruption wave to power.

Recalling his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Gandhi said there was no secrecy pact between the two governments like Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said. “I asked President Macron and he said there was no such deal between the two governments. The Defence Minister lied to the nation upon the Prime Minister’s instructions.”

During his speech, Rahul also attacked PM Modi over his China policy. “Why did PM Modi not take up the Doklam issue during his no-agenda summit with the Chinese President,” questioned Rahul.

Earlier, starting his speech in Parliament with a barb at the PM, calling him out for his series of “jumla strikes”, Gandhi referred to the elusive Rs 15 lakh in every bank account holder’s kitty which was an election promise that Modi had made. Then he turned his attention to the PM’s promise of providing employment to 2 crore people every year.

He said, “The truth is that the government’s labour bureau statistics show that in 2016-17, only four lakh people got employment. In other words, where China gives 50,000 people employment every 24 hours, Modiji has been able to give only 400 Indians the same in the same 24-hour cycle.”

(To be updated)