Modi a 'chowkidar' who lets in thieves: Rahul
Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh), Sep 18 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a 'chowkidar' who opens the door and lets thieves in.
Addressing a public meeting in this Andhra Pradesh town, he said that if Modi was a real 'chowkidar' he would have sacked Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for allowing fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya to leave the country.
Gandhi said Modi did not sack Jaitley because he himself was corrupt.
The Congress leader cited the Rafale deal in support of his allegation.
He said after becoming the Prime Minister, Modi changed the contract signed during the previous UPA government to buy 126 fighter jets. He alleged that the price for each jet was increased to Rs 1,600 crore from Rs 526 crore decided earlier.
Gandhi said the contract was snatched from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), which had 70 years experience of making aircraft, and given to a private company.
He said Jaitley himself admitted that Mallya met him and told him that he was leaving the country. "The only possibility is that the Finance Minister allowed Mallya to leave the country in exchange for something. There was a deal between them."
Gandhi said demonetization and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) were aimed at taking money from people's pocket and putting them in the pockets of some of the richest businessmen.
Alleging that the Modi government erased NPAs of Rs 1.3 lakh crore of the richest people, Gandhi promised that if voted to power in 2019, farm loan waiver will be the first thing the Congress would do.
Addressing the public meeting and earlier interacting with students, he alleged that Modi was disrespecting the people of Andhra Pradesh by breaking all promises made to Andhra Pradesh during bifurcation.
Gandhi promised that immediately after coming to power, the Congress would accord special category status to Andhra Pradesh as per the commitment made by the government of India when unified Andhra Pradesh was split in 2014.
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India describes attack on Fujairah 'unacceptable'
New Delhi (PTI): India on Tuesday described the wounding of three Indians in an attack on the United Arab Emirates' port city of Fujairah as "unacceptable" and pressed for an immediate cessation of hostilities targeting innocent civilians.
New Delhi's reaction came a day after the Indians were injured after a drone attack caused a fire at a major oil industry zone in Fujairah. The UAE had accused Iran of carrying out the strike.
"The attack on Fujairah that resulted in injury to three Indian nationals is unacceptable," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
"We call for immediate cessation of these hostilities and the targeting of civilian infrastructure and innocent civilians," the spokesperson said.
Jaiswal said India continued to stand for dialogue and diplomacy to deal with the situation so that peace and stability could be restored across West Asia.
"We also call for free and unimpeded navigation and commerce through the Strait of Hormuz in keeping with international law. India stands ready to support all efforts for a peaceful resolution of issues," he said.
The attack on Fujairah city came as the ceasefire between the US and Iran came under strain in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and gas pass, remains a major sticking point in the talks. Shipping through the narrow Gulf waterway has been severely disrupted by the conflict, triggering a sharp increase in oil prices and energy shortages in several countries.
The UAE's defence ministry on Monday said its air defence systems engaged 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and four drones launched from Iran.
The ministry affirmed that it "remains fully prepared and ready to deal with any threats and will firmly confront anything that aims to undermine the security of the country."
