Rahul says India ‘owned’ by a few; Centre hits back
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that a handful of people close to the Prime Minister now “own” the country through “massive monopolies”, demanded a probe into information that has come to light after Arnab Goswami’s Whatsapp conversations went public, and lashed out at the government for not resolving the crisis brought about by the farm laws, triggering a war of words with the BJP that snapped back saying “monopoly of one family during the UPA rule was overthrown by the people.”
In a no-holds-barred attack against the ruling dispensation a day before the tenth round of talks between farmers and the Centre, Gandhi compared the alleged monopolies that he said were being created with the British Raj and said at a press conference on Tuesday that “there are millions who do not accept this nonsense that’s going on...” He refused to answer questions posed by BJP chief Jagat Prakash Nadda, dubbed protesting farmers as “patriots” and claimed the Congress will provide “the vision for India”.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that a handful of people close to the Prime Minister now “own” the country through “massive monopolies”, demanded a probe into information that has come to light after Arnab Goswami’s Whatsapp conversations went public, and lashed out at the government for not resolving the crisis brought about by the farm laws, triggering a war of words with the BJP that snapped back saying “monopoly of one family during the UPA rule was overthrown by the people.”
In a no-holds-barred attack against the ruling dispensation a day before the tenth round of talks between farmers and the Centre, Gandhi compared the alleged monopolies that he said were being created with the British Raj and said at a press conference on Tuesday that “there are millions of people who do not accept this nonsense that’s going on in this country”. He refused to answer questions posed by BJP chief Jagat Prakash Nadda, dubbed protesting farmers as “patriots” and claimed the Congress will provide “the vision for India”.
the board , what we are watching is the development of massive monopoly in this country. This country is owned by a small group of three to five people who are close to the PM,” he said, expressing apprehension that the new farm laws are intended to monopolise the agriculture sector.
“Farmers won’t get the value they deserve. Mandis will be destroyed. Those three, four people will be able to store millions of kilos of grains. This is an assault on the middle class and youngsters who will not able to get a job,” Gandhi alleged, releasing a party booklet on the farm issues.
But ahead of Gandhi’s press conference, Nadda trained his guns at the Congress leader and demanded answers on why “time and again the Congress party surrenders to China” and why it has been “misleading” the farmers about the new laws.
“Now that Mr. @Rahulgandhi has returned from his monthly vacation, I would like to ask him some questions. I hope he will answer them in today’s press conference,” he tweeted. “When will @Rahulgandhi , his dynasty and Congress stop lying on China? Can he deny that thousands of kms, including the one (area) in Arunachal Pradesh he is referring to was gifted by none other than Pandit Nehru to the Chinese? Time and again, why does Congress surrender to China?” Gandhi refused to reply to Nadda. “Who is he? Why should I answer him? ...Is he my professor? I will answer to the country,” Gandhi said.
Within hours, the BJP hit back. Union minister Prakash Javadekar said: “A national party president is asking questions, you should reply. He (Gandhi) has run away from giving replies.”
Alleging that the Congress is not interested in resolving farmers’ issues, Javadekar said, “He (Gandhi) said there is a monopoly of a few families in the county. Monopoly of one family during the UPA rule was overthrown by the people. They are upset by that... there is a change, now 125 crore people rule the country. During the Congress rule it was only one family that remained in power,”
While Gandhi said that China has a “clear strategic vision” but India doesn’t and China has twice tested India in Doklam and Ladakh, Javadekar retorted that the Congress must answer why Aksai Chin was given away by it and land parcels in Arunachal Pradesh. Gandhi demanded that both journalist Arnab Goswami and the person who provided him information about the Balakot airstrike on Pakistan should be booked as such leaks were against national security.
His reference is to a transcript of Goswami’s Whatsapp conversation with a rating agency chief going public (it was part of a charge sheet on rigging of rating points). The conversation seems to suggest Goswami had prior knowledge of a coming strike by India against Pakistan. “Sharing official secrets with a journalist is a criminal act. There is nothing patriotic at putting our airforce at risk. I want to know who told Arnab Goswami about the airstrike? Only five people—the PM, the Home Minister, the defence Minister and the NSA must have known about it,” Gandhi said.