Rahul Gandhi mentioned Agnipath will damage the morale of the Indian armed forces. (FILE)
Hingoli (Maharashtra):
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday claimed the ‘Agnipath’ recruitment scheme will adversely influence the morale of armed forces as he continued his assault on the Centre on a spread of points – from notice ban to unemployment to inflation – throughout his Bharat Jodo Yatra which entered its 68th day.
Speaking at a public assembly in Hingoli district of central Maharashtra, organised as a part of the Congress’s mass outreach programme, he hit out on the Narendra Modi authorities, claiming insurance policies like ‘Agnipath’, notice ban and Goods and Service Tax (GST) had been formulated to instill worry among the many folks of the nation.
Mr Gandhi alleged the Prime Minister desires ‘Made in China’ merchandise as this may profit “two-three billionaires” within the nation.
“What is Narendra Modi ji doing? They (the BJP) are trying to spread fear, violence and hatred. Be it note ban, Agnipath, GST…all their policies only scare people. The one who gets scared, there is hatred in his heart which leads to division in the society. And then they say they are patriots,” he mentioned.
Mr Gandhi criticised what he dubbed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) model of “patriotism”.
“Not waiving farmers’ loans is patriotism, implementing the wrong GST is patriotism, spreading hatred in the country is patriotism, (bringing the contentious) farms laws is patriotism, unemployment is patriotism, and inflation is patriotism. This is not India’s patriotism. This is RSS patriotism,” mentioned the Lok Sabha MP from Kerala.
The former Congress president maintained the 2016 notice ban train and “faulty” implementation of the GST in 2017 had been weapons to assault small store homeowners and small and medium companies.
“These policies were enacted to instill fear because they want to create hate. They want to divide people and spread violence and divert attention from the real issues,” he alleged.
Mr Gandhi mentioned unemployment is the one actual situation plaguing the nation, however the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won’t talk about it.
Speaking in context of the Agnipath scheme, introduced in June this yr, the Congress chief mentioned he had an interplay with an ex-servicemen who advised him a jawan is totally prepared for his function within the armed forces solely after after seven to eight years of coaching and never 4 years.
“If you are sending a jawan on war front with a training of six months, then you are doing an injustice because when he goes to war after six months of training, and on the other hand, with Chinese soldiers getting training of seven, eight, ten years, then you know the results,” he mentioned.
Mr Gandhi mentioned the Agnipath recruitment scheme will damage the morale of the Indian armed forces.
Under Agnipath, youths shall be inducted into the armed forces for a four-year tenure, whereas 25 per cent of them shall be subsequently inducted for normal service.
Waiving a cell phone in his hand, Gandhi requested these current on the rally the place it had been manufactured.
He then proceeded to himself give the reply, “It comes from China. Who advantages from it? Those individuals who promote Chinese items in India. Who is benefitted when items come from China? It is China…and who else is benefitted? The one who additionally sells Chinese merchandise in India. Modi ji desires Made in China (items) as a result of that may profit two to 3 billionaires.” Targeting the Centre over issues faced by farmers, the Congress MP said despite cultivators paying premium to insurance companies, they do not get compensation in case of crop loss due to floods and unseasonal rains.
“Thousands of crores are being taken from farmers’ pockets and given directly to private companies. You (farmers) are told that in case of any crop damage, you will get money,” he said.
The Congress leader stated that loans of billionaires are being waived but not of farmers committing suicide.
On inflation, he said when fuel prices in the international market fall, its impact is not felt in India as rates do not drop for domestic consumers under the BJP-led regime.
Mr Gandhi said small and medium businesses generate large-scale employment, but the BJP-led government has made its mind to “finish” these enterprises.
“Note ban and GST are not policy initiatives, but (they are) weapons to attack small shop owners and small and medium businesses. This is to instill fear because they want to create hate,” he said.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Gandhi entered its 68th day as it resumed from Kalamnuri in Hingoli district on Monday after a one-day break.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said 600 copies of Jawaharlal Nehru’s book ‘Discovery of India’ will be distributed to yatra participants on the occasion of the birth anniversary of India’s first prime minister.
The cross-country foot-march took a one-day break in Maharashtra on Sunday and proceeded from Kalamnuri in Hingoli to Washim district on Monday.
“Today is 68th day of #BharatJodoYatra & also 133rd birth anniversary of Nehru. We are in Hingoli district & coincidentally a fine book on him in Marathi has just come out in addition to one in English & Hindi,” Mr Ramesh mentioned in a tweet.
“(Mo)istorians will proceed to distort, defame and denigrate however Nehru continues to encourage & his relevance has solely elevated after 2014. 600 copies of Nehru’s iconic, The Discovery of India, shall be distributed to Yatris at present. It was introduced by a volunteer who drove all the way in which from Delhi for 23 hours straight at a really quick discover,” mentioned the Congress basic secretary in-charge of communications.
The yatra, which began from Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, has to this point lined 28 districts in six states.
The Congress’s mass contact initiative will cowl a distance of 382 km throughout 5 districts of Maharashtra earlier than getting into Madhya Pradesh on November 20.
It will move by means of 12 states earlier than culminating in Jammu and Kashmir in January after masking a distance of three,570 km over almost 150 days.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
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