Centre attacking Constitution, working for handful of billionaires: Rahul Gandhi in Haryana

Chandigarh: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused the BJP-led Centre of attacking the Constitution and working for a handful of billionaires in the country, overlooking the poor and the Dalits.

Gandhi was addressing a public meeting in Sonipat ahead of the October 5 Haryana Assembly Polls.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that his government was only "working to serve the interests of a few big industrialists" and "doing nothing" for the welfare of the poor, Dalits, farmers and the youth.

"While coming here, a person stopped me. He told me he ran a small business. He said Modi and the Haryana government destroyed him.

"When I asked him the reason, he said they did demonetisation and implemented the wrong GST. And when I asked why they did so. He told me they did this to help Adani and Ambani," said Gandhi.

"Everyone knows that the central government and Haryana government are being run to help two-three 'arabpatis'. Whatever avenues of employment you had, they have been shut," he said.

"Earlier, small and medium businesses used to generate employment to Haryana, these have been shut," he said.

He alleged that the Agniveer scheme was a way to "steal" a soldier's pension, canteen facilities and the martyr status he gets.

"This scheme was formulated so that they do not have to give pension to our jawans, canteen facilities and if they lay down their lives they do not have to accord them the martyr status," he claimed.

Earlier, there used to be public sector, government factories, these have been privatised, he said. "Wherever you see, you will only see the names of Adani and Ambani." Gandhi alleged that the motive behind "stealing" jawans' pension was to handover the defence budget to Gautam Adani, the man behind the Adani behemoth.

He alleged that a company owned by Adani was putting its labels on weapons which were manufactured by foreign companies.

"Modi only wanted to give a defence contract to Adani," he said.

Gandhi also raised the issue of drugs in Haryana and mentioned several narcotics seizures made at a Gujarat port controlled by Adani.

"I want to ask Modi ji when thousands of kgs of heroin was seized from your friend Adani's Mundra port, what action you took. How many people did you send to jails for this," he asked.

The former Congress president said hundreds of youths from the state were resorting to illegal means to reach foreign nations because there were not enough jobs in Haryana.

"This is what the Haryana government and Modi has given," he said.

Holding a copy of the Constitution in his hand, Gandhi said whatever the poor, the Dalits, farmers, and the backward classes have, "it is because of this." "When the RSS puts its own people in the country's institutions and does not give any place to the Dalits, backwards, tribals, and the poor, they are attacking the Constitution.

"They are seeking to destroy the Constitution, we are protecting it," he said.

Gandhi said the BJP was subverting the promise of equality enshrined in the Constitution by waiving capitalists' loans, while forcing the poor to pay up.

"When Narendra Modi waives Rs 16 lakh crore of 25 'arabpatis' and does not waive loans of farmers, students, mothers and sisters, then he is attacking this Constitution.

"When Modi brings three black farm laws to help Adani, he brings them to destroy lives of farmers, then he is attacking the Constitution," he alleged.