Prime Minister Narendra Modi's teleprompters tell him not to speak about unfulfilled election promise of jobs and depositing Rs 15 lakh in bank account of every Indian, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said Friday.
Addressing a poll rally here, Gandhi also said Modi is now afraid of uttering the word 'chowkidar' as he knows what follows next.
"You have heard Modi's speech. He used to talk about (his) 56-inch chest. What is happening now? It is clearly written on the teleprompters that Modi ji, don't talk about (the 2014 poll promises of) employment (generation) and giving Rs 15 lakh (to each Indian) even by mistake, else it can damage (the partys prospects)," he said.
A teleprompter is a display device that prompts the person speaking with an electronic visual text of a speech or script.
Modi is known to speak extempore at political meetings but was seen using teleprompters at some poll rallies. The machines were not visible in the television frame.
"Congress people have promised to give Rs 3.60 lakh (in five years, under the Nyay scheme) to the poor. Therefore, Modi now speaks with hesitation," Gandhi said.
The prime minister has become the "chowkidar" of the rich and gave them people's money, Gandhi said. "Modi became chowkidar of (industrialists) Adani, Ambani, Lalit Modi, Nirav Modi," he added.
The country, on the other hand, expected him to become "chowkidar" of farmers, labourers, small shopkeepers and weaker sections of society, the Congress chief said.
"The Election Commission told me not to say the word 'chowkidar'. Because whenever you say 'chowkidar', people reply with 'chor hai' (is a thief)," he said.
"Is this my fault? I simply use the word chowkidar."
"Now even Modi himself does not say the word chowkidar even at his party meetings, because if he mistakenly uses that word, BJP people may give the (same) reply," Gandhi said.
"Modi deceived the youth the most by promising two crore jobs. Contrary to his claim, 27,000 persons are losing job every 24 hours. Unemployment rate in India is the highest in the last 45 years," Gandhi said.
The Congress, if voted to power, will give 22 lakh youth government jobs within a year and 10 lakh others will get jobs in village panchayats, he said.
He also accused the NDA government of weakening the land acquisition bill, tribal rights bill and the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act and working for the benefit of industrialists.
"When a Congress government comes to power in 2019, no farmer will be sent to jail for not repaying bank loans," he said.
The youth will not need to obtain any permissions to run a business in the initial three years, he added.
The Nyay minimum income scheme will energise India's economy reeling under shock due to demonetisation, he said. The scheme will give people purchasing power which will revive the economy, he added.
Demonetisation rendered lakhs of youth jobless as factories stopped production, he said.
Madhya Pradesh has a total of 29 Lok Sabha seats. While six of them went to the polls in the first phase on April 29, the remaining 23 constituencies will vote on May 6, 12 and 19.
Election for the Rewa seat will be held on May 6, in the second phase of polling in the state.
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