Rahul takes potshots at 'mitron'

Employing the power of sarcasm, Rahul Gandhi took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his assertions of being a yoga practitioner and style of speech delivery, which he likened to film star Amitabh Bachchan.

Rahul also poked fun at Modi’s oft-used catch-phrase ‘mitron’ to deliver a Bachchan style take down of the prime minister. “Like a magician, he said, ‘Mitron put your hands in your pocket.’ People did as he said...and then he said, ‘The money in your pockets is now just a piece of paper’,” he said amid cheer from his followers.

The Congress vice president also recalled a popular song from Bachchan starrer Namak Halal. “Aap ka to rehta hai bas ek sapna, Ram naam japna, garibon ka maal apna (you only have one dream, chant the name of Lord Ram and snatch the money from the poor),” Rahul said, urging Congress workers to fight against this philosophy of the Modi government.

The Congress leader also ridiculed Modi for showcasing his love of yoga. “I have observed him keenly. The self-declared yoga practitioner cannot perform the padmasana,” Rahul said referring to Modi performing yoga at India Gate to commemorate the International Yoga Day.

“I have performed yoga. I am not an expert. But experts tell me that those who do yoga regularly, they can sit in padmasana. Those who cannot sit in padmasana, do not do yoga,” Rahul said.

The Congress leader said, even economists considered to be the proponents of demonetisation had told him that the prime minister had not understood the concept properly.

Talking about the Congress election symbol, Rahul said he found the ‘hand' in pictures of Lord Shiva, Guru Nanak, Buddha, Mahavir and Hazrat Ali’.

“I asked (senior leader) Karan Singh what does it mean. He told me, the symbol signifies – do not fear, face the truth,” the Congress vice president said.

‘BJP, RSS have weakened institutions’
Hitting out at the Narendra Modi government, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused the prime minister of systematically chipping at the institutions the Congress had assiduously built over the past 70 years, DHNS reports.

“The BJP, under Narendra Modi, has done in two and a half years what we did not do in 70 years....every single institution we built ... the BJP, RSS and Modi have weakened the institutions,” the Congress vice president said.

More than 5,000 Congress leaders from across the country, in addition to top leaders such as chief ministers and working committee members, have gathered here for the day-long convention against demonetisation.