Senior BJP leader and Union minister Nitin Gadkari has lashed out at the Congress party over its promise to fight poverty if it regains power after the Lok Sabha polls. Gadkari, who was in Betul of Madhya Pradesh on Friday, said that the grand old party was the cause of poverty in the country and claimed that the party was never serious about eradicating poverty when it was in power for 60 years. He said that the previous governments of Congress did not introduce any scheme to develop agriculture and villages.
Gadkari said that India is rich, but people are poor as no serious policy was made for their welfare which resulted in wheat getting cheaper, but biscuit costly, fruits cheaper and juice costly.
Stating that former PMs ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi were unable to end poverty, he asked, “Then how would current Congress president Rahul Gandhi be able to do so?”
The Congress kept people poor due to its wrong policies and visionless and corrupt governance, he said.
The BJP leader alleged that when Congress ruled the country, the poor became poorer while sycophants of the party managed to get rid of their own poverty. He also said that the Congress indulged in communalism and casteism and politics of fear.
“But the BJP will finish the two (casteism and communalism),” Gadkari said.
The former BJP president, who is seeking re-election from Nagpur, said that the Congress can’t see the development because it is against the country’s growth. He said that the BJP government is making a Rs 10,000 crore Buddha Circuit road but the Congress is terming his party ‘anti-Buddha’.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi has promised that if his party gets a chance to form next government, he will launch a new scheme ‘NYAY’ (Nyuntam Aay Yojana) under which five crore families will get annual income support Rs 72,000. Rahul has been highlighting this scheme in his election rallies and alleging that this will be the final assaults against poverty.