Congress president Rahul Gandhi, on Monday, questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on rising fuel prices.
The Congress chief, who launched Madhya Pradesh assembly elections campaign in Bhopal with a 14km roadshow, promised that if elected to power, his party would waive farm loans within 15 days. If the Modi government can waive loans of businessmen, the Congress can waive the loans of framers, he argued.
He challenged Narendra Modi to reply on questions regarding the purchase of Rafale aircraft and the support extended to Anil Ambani's company. Further, he accused the Centre of helping liquor baron Vijay Mallya to flee the country.
Rahul Gandhi, who walked over to a specially made ramp to speak to Congress workers, entertained questions from his party workers and answered them, which is quite unusual for the Congress chief.
Earlier, the Congress president surprised many when he stopped at a temple belonging to the Vishwakarma community. Vishwakarmas, who mainly perform skilled jobs as carpenters and blacksmiths, are categorised as backwards in Madhya Pradesh. The community is celebrating the birthday of legendary engineer M. Visvesvaraya on Monday.
After landing at Bhopal airport, Rahul Gandhi began his campaign from a local temple where 11 Brahmin priests sang Sanskrit shlokas in the presence of 11 girl children on whose foreheads he applied tilak.
In an attempt to make himself more appealing to the common people, the Congress chief made a pit stop at a popular tea stall in old Bhopal during his roadshow. Rahul Gandhi, along with his party leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kamal Nath, Ajay Singh and Arun Yadav, had tea and aloo bonda from 'Raju Chaiwala'.
It took more than five hours for Rahul Gandhi to cover a distance of 14km from Bhopal airport to the Dussehra Maidan where the meeting of Congress workers was organised. The party chief travelled in a bullet-proof bus owing to intelligence reports of security threat to him because of the ongoing agitation by the upper caste people against SC ST Act.
Around one lakh Congress workers from various parts of the state assembled in the state capital to welcome the party chief.
Madhya Pradesh is going to polls in the next two months.
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