Modi facing crisis of credibility: Rahul

Congress president-elect Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was facing a "crisis of credibility" after failing to deliver promised development and jobs. Rahul was speaking here at the culmination of 'Padayorukkam', a state-wide rally taken out by Kerala's Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala.

"India is facing a crisis of unemployment. Youngsters who believed in Mr Modi are today jobless and future-less," Rahul said. Revisiting his criticism of demonetisation and 'Gabbar Singh Tax' (Goods and Services Tax), Rahul said the prime minister had stopped speaking about corruption after allegations emerged in the Rafale fighter jet deal and regarding the rise in turnover in the businesses of Jay Shah, son of BJP president Amit Shah. He pointed out that questions posed by the Congress regarding purchase of Rafale jets were unanswered.

The Congress president-elect said at every level in the run-up to the Assembly election in Gujarat, Modi tried to "distract" the people of the state. "He insulted the former prime minister of India (Manmohan Singh), a man who has spent his life working for his country. But I've made it clear that regardless of how Modi speaks about the Congress or me, the party will respect the post of the prime minister," he said.

Call for CPM

Rahul slammed BJP's divisive politics and called for a united resistance against fascist forces in the country. He also sought to know from the CPM whether or not it wanted to fight fascists and where it stood on being part of the resistance. "Do they accept the fact that the biggest danger comes from the fascist forces led by the BJP? It's very important that they make their position clear at the national level because not standing together on this means supporting the BJP," he said.

Earlier in the day, Rahul visited the coastal hamlets of Poonthura and Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram, affected by Cyclone Ockhi, and addressed the families of fishers killed in the cyclone and those who are still untraced.