Congress president Rahul Gandhi has stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned the surgical strikes into a political asset when it actually was a military decision.
"Mr. Narendra Modi actually reached into the Army's domain and turned their surgical strikes into a political asset when it actually was a military decision," Rahul said during an interaction with the business community and professionals in Udaipur.
The Congress chief further said: "What the Army would have liked was we'll do it and it's beneficial if nobody knows we did it. But Mr. Modi didn't want that as he was fighting an election in Uttar Pradesh where he was about to lose. So, he did so to turn a military asset into a political asset."
Appreciating efforts of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Rahul asserted that three surgical strikes were held during his tenure. "Do you know that like Mr Narendra Modi's surgical strike, Manmohan Singh ji did that 3 times? When Army came to Mr Manmohan Singh and said we need to retaliate against Pakistan for what they've done, they also said we wanted to be secret, for our own purposes," he said.
Rahul further claimed that while Manmohan Singh always informed the then opposition about major decisions in the country, Prime Minister Modi has never called the Congress chief in the last five years. "When 26/11attacks happened during Congress rule, the second call from former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh went to BJP leader LK Advani. He believes that opposition should know what is happening, but Mr Modi has never called me in the last five years," he said.
The Gandhi scion further claimed that Prime Minister Modi believes he knows everything. "Prime Minister (Modi) is convinced that he knows Army better than Army general, better than external affairs minister what needs to be done in the external affairs ministry and better than the Agriculture Minister what needs to be done in the agriculture ministry, because he has a sense that all knowledge comes from his brain."
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Amid debates regarding Rahul's religion, the Congress chief, while continuing his tirade against Prime Minister Modi, said the latter lacks knowledge on the foundation of Hinduism. "What is the essence of Hinduism? What does the Gita say? That knowledge is with everybody, knowledge is all around you. Every living being has knowledge. Our Prime Minister says he is a Hindu but he doesn't understand the foundation of Hinduism. What kind of a Hindu is he?" he asked.
Rahul further said that as the country is moving towards privatisation, unemployment, and depreciation of public sectors is increasing. "Today the Chinese are creating 50,000 jobs every day. They are our real competitors. By transforming the agriculture sector, identifying the skills of our people, we can really make a difference," he said.
Emphasising on the effectiveness of public health and education system, Rahul stated that one cannot run this country without public health and education system. "It is a myth that private sectors are better at providing health and education. Private firms should know the fact that they have competition with IITs and AIIMS. If this isn't established then they won't provide the services effectively," he noted.
The Congress chief also stated that the public has no choice in selecting their insurance companies. Citing the Centre's Ayushman Bharat scheme, he said: "Government is parceling out insurance of assets to corporates like Anil Ambani without any sense of competition. It is surreal that while American President says India is one of its major competitors, Mr Modi says India was a sleeping giant until before he became the Prime Minister of our country."
Rahul also claimed that moves like demonetisation and "Gabbar Singh Tax" were implemented by Prime Minister Modi as scams to break the backbone of the small, medium-sized companies and to open a way for industrialists.
The 200-member Rajasthan Assembly is scheduled to go to polls on December 7 and counting of votes will take place on December 11.
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