Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi (PTI photo) Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi (PTI photo)

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi Wednesday launched an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi sharply criticising the government’s demonetisation move. Gandhi’s remarks came at the day-long Congress convention ‘Jan Vedna Sammelan’ held in New Delhi to discuss the challenges facing the country post demonetisation.

“Demonetisation is just an excuse. PM Modi knows that he won’t be able to hide in the garb of Yoga and Make in India. When he got worried, he broke the backbone of the Indian economy (through demonetisation),” said Gandhi. “Almost every economist of repute has rebuked demonetisation.”

“2.5 saal pehle Modi ji aaye kaha Hindustan ko saaf kardunga, sabko jhaadu pakdaya. Fashion tha, 3-4 din chala phir bhool gaye (Two-and-a-half years ago, Modi government had said they will clean India. They gave brooms to everyone. It used to be fashionable. It continued for some time, then they forgot about it),” said the Congress leader in reference to the government’s flagship Swacch Bharat Abhiyan.

Alleging that PM Modi and the RSS have weakened institutions like the Reserve Bank of India and the judiciary, Gandhi vowed to ‘save the voice of Hindustan.’

“Institutions like the RBI, judiciary, press that we respected for 70 years, Modi ji stopped it in his two-and-a-half years of rule,” the Congress leader said.

In a sly dig at the BJP’s 2014 campaign slogan, Gandhi added that ‘acche din’ (good days) will come only when Congress is returned to power.

Gandhi, who presided over the convention in the absence of his mother and party president Sonia Gandhi, will lead the party’s election campaign in the five states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur. While Congress presides over governments in Uttarakhand and Manipur, it is fighting to come to power in the rest of the states. The month-long election will begin February 4 with polls in Punjab and Goa and culminate in a seven-phase poll in the politically crucial Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh. Counting of votes will take place on March 11.

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