Modi arrogant, country can't be run by a single person: Rahul
Bhilai, Nov 14: Congress president Rahul Gandhi Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being arrogant, adding the latter "doesn't understand that India has progressed due to the sweat and blood of the common man".
Addressing a campaign rally here for the second phase of Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, Gandhi said the country can't be run by a single person or a party.
"The common citizens have given their sweat and blood for development of the country. The prime minister doesn't seem to understand this because he is arrogant," he told the gathering.
"When Modi spoke from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi that before he became the prime minister in 2014, the elephant (India) was sleeping, he was insulting people of the country," Gandhi said.
"By making such comments, he has insulted you, the workers of Bhilai steel plant who have worked here since 1955," Gandhi said.
Gandhi spoke of "two Indias coexisting", saying "One India is of the rich: Anil Ambani, Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and another India is of common people like you and me - farmers and labourers. We don't want this. We have one 'tiranga' (national tricolour) and the country should also be one," he said.
"If the rich are given benefits, the common people should also get the same. If you don't want to waive loans of farmers, you should not do so for the rich as well. For a handful of rich whose NPAs total Rs 12 lakh crore, Rs 3.5 lakh crore have been waived off," he said.
Targeting Modi, Gandhi asked the audience to question him when he visits them next.
"On my behalf, ask Modiji why doesn't he speak of the promises he made in 2014 about depositing Rs 15 lakh in your bank accounts, about giving employment to two crore people, fair price for farmers produce and about being the 'chowkidar' of the country," he said.
Modi did 'chowkidari' of Anil Ambani and made crores of honest ordinary citizens stand in queues outside banks, he said.
"Rs 30,000 crore was given to Ambani in the Rafale deal. This is the truth of the 'chowkidar", Gandhi said.
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IAF to hold 2-day wargame along frontier with Pakistan: NOTAM issued
New Delhi, May 6 (PTI): The Indian Air Force will carry out a two-day mega military exercise along the border with Pakistan from Wednesday that will involve all the frontline fighter jets including Rafale, Su-30 and Jaguar aircraft, sources in the defence establishment said on Tuesday.
The exercise is taking place amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
India's civil aviation authorities have already issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) for the major air exercise that will largely take place along the southern and western section of the Indo-Pakistan border.
India's frontline fighter jets including the Rafale, Su-30 MKI, MiG-29, Mirage-2000, Tejas and AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft are set to feature in the exercise, the sources said.
In the course of the exercise, the IAF will simulate enemy targets on ground and in the air with deadly precision, they said.
The militaries of both India and Pakistan are on a high alert following rising tensions between the two nations.
Soon after the Pahalgam terror attack, India, citing "cross-border linkages" to the strike, promised severe punishment to those involved in it.
In a high-level meeting with the top defence brass on April 29, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the armed forces have "complete operational freedom" to decide on the mode, targets and timing of India's response to the terror attack.
Air Chief Marshal A P Singh met Prime Minister Modi on Sunday and the Chief of Air Staff briefed him about the IAF's operational readiness.
On Saturday, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi apprised the prime minister on the overall situation in the critical sea lanes in the Arabian Sea.
