IAF defends the country, but Modi stole its money to give it to Anil Ambani: Rahul Gandhi
Ranchi, Mar 2: Congress president Rahul Gandhi Saturday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying while the Indian Air Force (IAF) was defending the country, Modi stole Rs 30,000 crore from the force and put it in businessman Anil Ambani's pocket.
He asked chowkidars (watchmen) not to get worried over the slogan "chowkidar chor hain" as the country knows that "it was meant for Prime Minister Narendra Modi".
Speaking at the party's Parivartan Ulgulan Maha Rally at the Morabadi Ground here with leaders of the Mahagathbandhan, Gandhi reiterated that Rs 30,000 crore was "wrongfully" given to Anil Ambani in the purchase of Rafale fighter planes.
Ulgulan is the term used for the movement of justice and independence launched by legendary tribal fighter Birsa Munda against the British in the 19th century.
Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) president and former chief minister Babulal Marandi, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader and state's former deputy chief minister Stephen Marandi and Rashtriya Janata Dal's former MLA Ram Chandra Singh were present at the rally.
The Congress chief stuck to his rally schedule, and did not visit ailing RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, neither did he speak to Prasad over the phone.
There was speculation over whether the Congress president would contact Prasad to break the logjam over seat-sharing among grand alliance partners in Bihar and Jharkhand ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Prasad has been in Ranchi's Birsa Munda jail since December 2017 after his conviction in Rs 900-crore fodder scam cases that broke out in the early 1990s in united Bihar.
"Vayu Sena desh ki raksha karti hain aur hamare PM uske paise chori kar ke Anil Ambani ko Rs 30,000 crore de dete hain (The IAF defends our country but the PM steals its money and gives Rs 30,000 crore to Anil Ambani)," he said taking a jab at Modi, a day after IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman returned home from Pakistan captivity.
The AICC chief claimed that former France President (Francois Hollande) had said 'Modi said if Rafale deal was to be sealed then Anil Ambani should be given the (offset) contract.'
In his no holds barred attack on Modi, the Congress president further alleged that the prime minister had waived Rs 3.5 lakh crore loan of industrialists, but not that of farmers, students and shopkeepers.
"There was long thumping of desks (in the Lok Sabha) by the BJP members during the budget speech of (officiating) Finance Minister Piyush Goyal.
"I found out that the thumping erupted after announcement of Rs 17 per family of the farmers, effectively Rs 3.5 per member of the family. But they (the Centre) waived Rs 3.5 lakh crore loan of industrialists," said Gandhi, referring to the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Yojana in which farmers having less than or upto two hectare will be given Rs 6,000 per year.
He said if his party was voted to power, it would give minimum income guarantee to the poor by directly transferring money into their accounts.
Focusing on tribals and farmers, Rahul said the Congress party had in 2013 brought the Land Acquisition Act to protect the jal, jungle, jameen (water, forest and land) of the tribals.
"Jal, jungle and jameen are yours, and not of Ambanis or Adani's. Under the land act, until and unless 80 per cent of the farmers (land owners) say yes, the land cannot be sold, and if they say yes there will be social impact study and then land will be sold four times the market rate," he said.
He said the Congress protested vociferously when the Modi government tried to amend the act.
He said in Chhattisgarh the Congress government had returned unused land to original holders within ten days of forming the government as the land had not been used in the last five years.
The AICC president said farm loans were waived in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan within 10 days of the Congress forming the government in those states.
He said, "Rs 15 lakh had been promised to the people, but what have you got in the last five years. (They) Spread hatred everywhere. We unite and connect with the people".
The Congress president, who is visiting Ranchi after nearly five years, said he joined politics in 2004 and had never spoke a lie.
He said the Congress had given to the country MGNREGA, White Revolution, Green Revolution and Computer Revolution.
Gandhi assured the JVM president and the JMM that the Congress would fight the polls in alliance with them. Jharkhand has a total of 14 Lok Sabha seats.
In his speech, Marandi said his party would be part of the grand alliance for the Lok Sabha polls.
On his "chowkidar chor hain" slogan, Gandhi made it clear that it was directed at the prime minister and not other watchmen in the country.
"I tell them not to get worried, the entire country knows that when we say 'chowkidar chor hain' it is clearly meant that we are talking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Gandhi said adding, "one chowkidar has defamed all chowkidars."
Former Jharkhand police chief Rajeev Kumar joined the Congress in the presence of Gandhi.
Kumar is the third IPS officer in Jharkhand Congress after its present president Ajoy Kumar and Rameshwar Oraon.
State Congress spokesman Alok Dubey told PTI that Gandhi went straight to the airport after the rally and he neither had any schedule to meet the RJD president nor talked to him over telephone.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
