"Anywhere but at Anil Ambani’s house": Rahul Gandhi jabs PM on debate

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, May 04, 2019 : Congress chief Rahul Gandhi today reiterated his challenge for a debate with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over what he called "fundamental issues" like jobs, economy and agriculture, two days before the country votes in the fifth phase of the national election. He also took a swipe at the BJP on the release of Pakistan-based terrorist Masood Azhar back in 1999, NDTV reported.

 

"Who sent Masood Azhar to Pakistan? Did Congress send him to Pakistan? Which government negotiated with terrorism? Congress didn’t send him there. The reality is that BJP compromises with terrorism," Rahul Gandhi told reporters this morning.

The chief of the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed was on Wednesday designated as a global terrorist by the UN Security Council. Masood Azhar and two other terrorists were released by India in 1999 in exchange for passengers held hostage on board IC-814 flight hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

"Terrorism has to be dealt with sternly. We deal with it more sternly than Narendra Modi. We do it with strategy unlike Modi who does it in events," said Mr Gandhi, flanked by Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Randeep Singh Surjewala. "Modi insulted the Army by saying the UPA’s surgical strikes were video games. We don’t politicise our armed forces," he said. "The Army is not Modi ji’s personal property... When he says surgical strikes were not done under Congress tenure, he is disrespecting the Army."

On the jobs and economy front, Mr Gandhi said PM Modi has hurt the poor with the shock overnight demonetisation in November 2016. "We will use NYAY (Congress’s election promise) to remonetise the economy. As soon as people get cash, they will spend it on the market, and the market will manufacture more, so it will boost the economy," Mr Gandhi said.

"PM has no expertise, and he doesn’t use the experts they have... I told him, let’s debate, let’s debate on jobs, corruption, give me only 10 minutes, wherever you want but not at Anil Ambani’s house," said Mr Gandhi.

The Congress alleges that industrialist Anil Ambani’s firm Reliance Defence got undue favour from the Modi government in getting offset contract as part of India’s deal with France’s Dassault Aviation for Rafale multirole jet fighters.