BJP’S ‘Achhe Din’ over in 4 years: Rahul
Party chief names Rafale deal, happenings in CBI and Nirav MODI-PNB scam in run up to MP Assembly polls; government trying to destroy autonomous structure of RBI, says Congress
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying his promise of “Achhe Din” had gone up in smoke in just four years and now people were alleging that “chowkidar chor hai” (watchman is corrupt).
As he sharpened his barbs, Gandhi uttered the said, “chowkidar” and the crowd attending a rally here roared back: “chor hai.” It was the Congress leader’s last leg of a two-day visit to the state.
If on Monday his attacks were aimed at Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, then on Tuesday Gandhi took aim at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership.
He named the Rafale deal, the happenings in the CBI and the Nirav MODI-PNB scam in the run up to the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls of Nov.28.
“Modi says he is not a ruler but a (political) servant − a watchman. It is a lie. He is not guarding poor people’s assets. In fact he is illing up the coffers of his cronies... He saves fugitives like Nirav Modi and Mehul Chowksi and Vijay Mallya who leave Indian shores for the foreign ones without any fear.”
A number of BJP leaders on Tuesday joined the Congress in Madhya Pradesh in Gandhi’s presence.
BJP MLA Sanjay Sharma, former MLA Kamlapat Arya and Kirar community leader Gulab Singh Kirar joined the party earlier in Indore.
Meanwhile, sharpening its attack on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the Congress on Tuesday accused the government of trying to destroy autonomous institutions like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and alleged him of interfering in the work of the central bank.
“I have been surprised today by the sharp attack of the Finance Minister on the RBI and its performance. The central bank is independent and autonomous,” Congress leader Anand Sharma told reporters.
He said that it was in the interest of India and the economy that the RBI alone remains the regulator for the banks for the lending, borrowings and ixes the rates for the banks.
“Only the RBI must have the powers to regulate the public sector banks and none else. This government has ignited a ire through its repeated interference from day one. And now government move to take charge of the monetary policy is a very ominous move,” he said.
“It (attack on RBI) cannot be accepted. It must be opposed. Government being the spending authority, cannot become the monetary authority for the country. Equally important is to remember the role of the RBI as the payment regulator cannot be diluted or taken away by a government nominated body,” the Congress leader said.
His remarks came soon after Jaitley on Tuesday held the central bank responsible for the mountain of bad loans, saying the RBI looked the other way when banks lent indiscriminately during 2008-14 to keep the economy humming.
“Under Modi and BJP, they are damaging all the independent institutions of the country which have their role in maintaining governance and administration like CBI, ED, IT, DRI, Central Universities and many others,” he said.
“I want to make one thing very clear today to Jaitley, since he speciically commented from the year 2008. Very eminent Governors of the RBI, far more competent than Jaitley or Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were there. And that time also the country had the beneit of an eminent economist of unimpeachable integrity in Manmohan Singh as country PM,” he said, adding 2008 was the year when the big inancial crisis enveloped the global economy.