Rahul counters BJP 'propaganda' on crop loan waivers

Debunking the BJP’s propaganda on crop loan waivers in Congress-ruled states of Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, INC chief Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that even the crop loans of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Chauhan's family members were waived off.

“The Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh has even waived off the farm loans taken by the brother and nephew of Shivraj Chauhan,” Rahul said while addressing a rally in Punjab’s Ludhiana.

Rahul jeered at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that the latter does "scripted interviews".

He went ahead mocking Modi for the prime minister's interview with actor Akshay Kumar, where Modi spoke about how he eats mangoes.

Rahul said that the nation is facing a crisis of unemployment and farm distress.

“The biggest challenge today is unemployment and issues related to farmers... Without empowering medium and small enterprises, job opportunities cannot be created. I guarantee you, we will pump in all the power to boost medium and small enterprises... Without Make in Ludhiana, Indian cannot challenge Made in China,” he said.

Earlier, while speaking at a public rally in Punjab’s Faridkot, Rahul raked up the issue of desecration of the Sikh holy books in this border state.

He pledged severe action against those involved in the 2015 desecration incidents in Punjab.