'PM paralysed, unable to respond to country's demands'

Exulting from the victory in Assembly elections, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he was “paralysed” and unable to respond to the demands made by the country.

Rahul said the Assembly poll outcome is a “clear message” to Prime Minister Modi that people were not happy with him and that he would find it difficult to win the Lok Sabha elections next year.

“When Prime Minister Modi was elected, he was elected on platforms like employment, corruption. Now, voters are disillusioned. They believe the PM is involved in corruption. And these losses are the result of that,” the Congress president said.

Addressing a press conference here, Rahul thanked the party workers for the “good performance” in three states of Rajasthan, Chhatisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

“It's now time for a change. We are going to provide these three states with a vision for overall development”. However, he added that they would have liked to do better in Telangana.

He said the Prime Minister was “paralysed” and was not able to respond to the demands made by the country. “He is unable to take the pressure put by the Opposition,” Rahul said.

Striking a personal note, he said the 2014 Lok Sabha elections was the “best thing” that happened to him.

“The best thing for me was the 2014 elections... I learnt a lot from that election... I learnt that the most important thing in this country is what the people feel... and that you have to work with that sentiment,” Rahul said.

“Mr Narendra Modi taught me that lesson... he taught me what not to do. He did not listen to India’s heartbeat. He was given a massive opportunity to lead the country. It is a sad thing that he refused to listen to the heartbeat of the country. The arrogance came in,” the Congress President said.

“It was a nice journey from 2014. There was a little bit of a beating but it is a good thing, not a bad thing,” Rahul said.