Priyanka Gandhi, Jyotiraditya Scindia solely entrusted to bring Congress govt in Uttar Pradesh, says Rahul Gandhi

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, while speaking in his Lok Sabha constituency of Amethi on Thursday, targetted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a spate of issues plaguing the Centre, including the Rafale deal, demonetisation, the ongoing CBI row and promises of “acche din”. He began his address by asking the gathering where Modi’s “acche din” were, saying that the prime minister has instead only spent his time waiving loans for his “industrialist friends”. Rahul also said he has given his sister Priyanka Gandhi, newly entrusted with eastern Uttar Pradesh, the target of ensuring that the party forms the next government in the state. The Congress will also fight the coming Lok Sabha polls with “full strength”, he said at a public meeting in his constituency. [caption id=“attachment_5954831” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Rahul Gandhi on Thursday addressed a rally in his Lok Sabha constituency of Amethi. ANI[/caption] He added that by appointing Priyanka and Jyotiraditya Scindia to lead the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, the party will work “harder than ever before” in the state. He added that Priyanka will also address the Amethi and Raebareli when she is formally appointed. “Priyanka and Scindia have been given a target. That is to form a Congress government in Uttar Pradesh in the next election by defeating and wiping out the BJP,” the Congress president said. The Congress chief reiterated his slogan of ‘chowkidaar chor hai’ and said that Modi has stolen money from the people to feed industrialists like Nirav Modi, the key accused in the Punjab National Bank scam. He also spoke about the Rafale deal, and said that the Modi government decided to go around the then defence minister Manohar Parrikar to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from France and gave the account to Reliance Defence, “putting Rs 30,000 crore in Anil Ambani’s pocket”. In addition, he called demonetisation the “nation’s biggest scam,” adding that while “hard-working citizens such as farmers, labourers and women had to stand in line in harsh conditions, India’s biggest thieves such as Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi did not.” In addition, he also called out the BJP government over the ongoing CBI row, and said that the prime minister fired CBI Director Alok Verma overnight because he was scared that the investigation agency would “find out the truth about (the prime minister’s) robbery”. Attacking the Centre over the ongoing farmers’ crisis, Rahul promised to set up food processing factories near agricultural land across Uttar Pradesh, same as the Congress did in Madhya Pradesh. “Where potatoes grow, we will set up factories to make potato chips. Where tomatoes grow, we will set up a factory to make ketchup,” he said amid cheers. In a move to emphasise the Congress’ promise to waive farm loans within 10 days, Rahul said: “The farmers have given everything to the country. But Modi has refused to waive their loans. See how the chowkidar has become a chor in four-and-a-half years. Gali gali mein shor hai, chowkidar hi chor hai.” Rahul addressed the newfound alliance between the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP), and said, “I respect Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati. But Congress should carve out a space of its own, and has to fight for its beliefs.”