Borghat (Assam): Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of promoting the interest of a few select industrialists and "those with black money", while imposing tax on life-long savings of the salaried class.
Addressing a rally in poll-bound Assam, Gandhi said Modi's personal attacks do not affect him and vowed to put pressure on the government till it rolls back the proposal of levying tax on EPF withdrawals.
"This Prime Minister allows thieves to turn their black money to white under the recent budget's 'fair and lovely scheme', but taxes the life-long savings of the honest salaried class," he said.
"I had said in the media and also to the Prime Minister not to tax the salaried class on their honest savings and do something about it. But in his one-hour speech in Parliament on Thursday, there was not a single mention about this," he said.
Gandhi said that he would continue to fight for the salaried class and put pressure on the government which "works for a selected group of industrialists and those with black money."
"I'll continue to pressurise this government as it is not the government of the honest working class...it is not the government of poor farmers, backward classes, youths, women, dalit, adivasis and minorities," he said.
Gandhi said that in Parliament he had asked Modi four questions on his promises of bringing back black money and depositing Rs 15 lakh in everybody's bank account, the recent budget proposal of "turning black money to white", Rohith Vemula's suicide, Kanhaiya Kumar and JNU and finally about the number of youths employed as a result of his 'Make in India' scheme.
"Have I asked anything wrong? Did I say anything personal? Modiji, in his hour-long speech, instead of giving a reply to these questions, quoted former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and launched a personal attack on me," Gandhi said.
"The Prime Minister's post is very dignified and he should not have made personal attacks, but I did not mind. He does not give answers, but only makes promises which are hollow," he said.
Gandhi, quoting a story of a friend who had ordered a computer from an online shopping website but received a parcel with a log of wood inside, alleged that the country was also faced with a similar situation as far as Modi was concerned.
"People were lured by Modi's false and hollow promises and just like my friend who is now engaged in getting the amount refunded, the people of the country are also asking for a refund of the promises made," he said.
Referring to Assam, where two-phase polls will be held on April 4 and 11, the Congress Vice President praised Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and the people of the state for bringing back peace and development in the state during the last 15 years.
"I had met yesterday a group of businessmen and traders who told me that when they consider the state's past, they usually divide it into two parts -- the last 15 years and the period before that," the Congress leader said.
He said the business community pointed out that in the last 15 years, there had been peace, progress, amity and brotherhood, but before that they were scared to go out, there was fear of being abducted and they were generally scared of doing business.
"BJP under Modi believes in creating terror. In Haryana, there was peace for the last 10 years but they came to power and the state was set on fire. Wherever they go, they create tension and make people fight," Gandhi alleged.
He said the UPA government had given Rs 5,000 crore to Assam under the special category status, but the BJP government snatched it away along with the North East Industrial Policy.
Gandhi said the Gogoi-led government in Assam had worked for women with Rs 5,000 deposited in the account of each girl child born, backward people, tea garden workers and creating employment opportunities for youths in the state.
The Congress Vice President, on a two-day visit to the state from yesterday, earlier undertook a six-km padayatra from Shahid Bhawan in Nagaon to Borghat.
