Farmers ought to hit sixers: Rahul Gandhi

In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, Congress president Rahul Gandhi launched the party's election campaign in Rajasthan keeping youth and farmers as priority.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi sharpened his attack against the NDA government and criticised Pime Minister Narendra Modi for not doing enough for the farmers.

"The prime minister always plays on the backfoot. I want the youth of the country to play on the front foot and hit a sixer," said Rahul Gandhi at Vidhyadhar Nagar stadium in Jaipur.

In his first rally in Rajasthan after the Congress came to power, Rahul set the tone for the campaign for the coming elections, promising loan waivers across the country if the party is voted to power.

He, however, said farm loan waivers don't solve the problem and is just a step in the right direction.

"The country needs a new strategy for farmers. Yet another green revolution (harit kranti) is needed to address the problem," Rahul said, suggesting that exporting farm produce, technology and setting up food processing units can improve the farming sector.

Reminding people that the new Congress governments in three states had waived loans, Rahul said: "If we come to power in 2019, we will waive loans. What Modi couldn't do in four and a half years, we did in two days. We want to send a clear message to Narendra Modi that either you waive loans or we will not let you sleep at night," Rahul said.

'Modi opted for a woman to defend him'

Photo by Suman Sarkar

Rahul also attacked Modi for not participating in the debate on the multi-crore Rafale jet deal. "Chowkidaar could not stand in Lok Sabha for a minute during the debate on Rafale issue," Rahul said.

Rahul also said Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman could not reply to his questions during the debate on the issue in Lok Sabha.

Interestingly, the venue had a dozen big banners showing Modi and Anil Ambani in an embrace, highlighting the alleged corruption in Rafale deal.