Rahul, BJP trade barbs on Cong foundation day

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday continued his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation, accusing him of practising politics of “fear and anger” and exhorted partymen to defeat his ideology.

“On November 8, Modiji said he is performing a ‘yagya’ against corruption and black money. In every yagya someone’s sacrifice is done and every yagya is done to benefit someone. “The demonetisation ‘yagya’ is for 50 families of the country’s 1 per cent super-rich. It is the poor, farmers, labourers, middle class and small shopkeepers who are being sacrificed in this ‘yagya’. There has been tremendous pain caused by it,” he said presiding over Congress Party’s 132nd Foundation Day celebrations, 

The Congress will stand with people, farmers, labourers, middle-class and small shopkeepers and with the country and help them, he said, exhorting Congressmen to reach out to those “pained” by demonetisation and fight and defeat the ideology of Modi and RSS that spreads “fear and hatred”. “Congress workers have to reach out to people and I am confident that they will do this and will fight out and defeat the ideology of Narendra Modi and RSS which spreads anger and hate,” he said.

Accusing Modi for hurting financial independence of people of this country, he asked on what basis limits of Rs 24,000 were imposed on withdrawal.

Filling in for his mother and Congress President Sonia Gandhi who is note keeping well, Rahul for the first time on Wednesday unfurled the Tricolour at the party headquarters to mark the Congress Foundation Day. In another first, he later addressed a gathering of top party leaders including all members of the Congress Working Committee, indicating his slow but consistent march towards elevation as Congress chief.

Hitting back at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi over his criticism of demonetisation, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu  said he opposition party should “introspect” its contribution towards ills like corruption and black money.

Attacking the Congress, the Union Information and Broadcasting minister said the party which has ruled India for the maximum time should give answers as it has all along “patronised” black money and corruption. He said that as the Congress celebrates its Foundation Day and it is only appropriate that the issue of black money, corruption etc, are “haunting” it.

Referring to Rahul’s comments earlier in the day, Naidu said that the Congress Vice president had expressed unwisely his “vicarious pleasure” over what he thought that note withdrawal is a big failure in terms of unearthing black money.

“This clearly shows that his party is with those who all along lived by black money and corruption....One of the objectives of note withdrawal has been to see that high-value currency notes reach the system.

“Whatever does not reach banking system obviously could be taken as unaccounted for money. It does not necessarily mean that all the currency that reached the banking system is white money,” Naidu said.

One would have known by now that December 30 is not the last day of efforts for unearthing black money, he added.

Claiming that spit and run won’t work, Naidu posed five questions to Rahul and Congress. He asked them to explain whether they believe that there is no black money and corruption in the country and there was no need for any measures to tackle them?

If Congress believes that there is a problem of black money and corruption, why did it’s governments not take effective measures against them, he asked? Naidu also asked why Congress government brought the Benami Property law before Parliament in 1988 but did not subsequently notified it?

Why are some major opposition parties refusing to join hands with Congress in its anti-note withdrawal campaign? he asked Naidu asked.

Why didn’t the Congress Government act on Supreme Court s directive for setting up SIT on black money, was Naidu’s fifth question?