Rahul Gandhi says Ram Mandir not on agenda for 2019 polls; claims unemployment, 'destroyed' economy to be in focus

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday broke his silence on the Ram Mandir issue saying that the controversy “will not” be the narrative for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, and asserted that unemployment, corruption, the state of the economy, and education and healthcare infrastructure is likely to be the agenda leading up to the General Elections. Rahul also said that the matter of the Ram Mandir is “sub judice”. India Today quoted Rahul as saying, “The immense destruction done to the economy and corruption done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be among the things that will form the narrative for the Lok Sabha elections.” Rahul also said that health facilities and infrastructure in the country would be other points of focus in 2019.

#NewsAlert -- Ram Mandir won't be the narrative for 2019: @RahulGandhi | #RamMandirPolitics pic.twitter.com/jp3z7cxrex

— News18 (@CNNnews18) January 4, 2019

Earlier on Friday, Rahul said if Congress comes to power in 2019, a criminal investigation will be launched into the Rafale deal and the accused will be punished. Speaking to the media outside Parliament, he urged Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to answer the questions raised by the Congress on the multi-million dollar fighter jet deal. “We and the entire opposition want that when defence minister speaks on the prime minister’s behalf, the questions raised by us should be answered,” Rahul told reporters. The Congress president also asked Sitharaman whether any objections were raised on the Rafale contract file by the negotiating team and the defence ministry. Rahul also accused Modi of “running away” from the debate and said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley should answer questions raised by the Congress instead of “abusing” him. With inputs from agencies