Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday contrasted Manmohan Singh who led the UPA government and Narendra Modi, saying the prime minister wouldn’t have “destroyed” the economy if he had taken advice from his predecessor.
“Modi used to make fun of Manmohan Singh. But after five years now, Modi ji does not make fun of Manmohan ji. Today the country is making fun of him,” Gandhi said at an election rally here.
Accusing Modi of “destroying” the economy with his two decisions, he said had the PM taken the advice of Manmohan Singh he would not have rolled out demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Gandhi referred to it as the Gabbar Singh Tax.
He claimed that the former PM had rightly predicted a fall of two percentage points in the country’s GDP due to demonetisation.
The Congress leader targeted Modi for likening the country’s economy under the Manmohan Singh as “sleeping elephant”, and asked where he was when the hard-working Punjab farmers ushered in the green revolution.
Modi has often called the Manmohan Singh government as one run by remote control, suggesting that UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was the one who wielded real power.
During this election campaign, Manmohan Singh has hit back through media interviews.
At the rally in Faridkot district’s Bargari town, Rahul Gandhi also attacked the previous Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government in Punjab over the 2015 desecration of religious texts, which still remains an emotive issue in the state.
He promised strict action against the perpetrators.
Punjab goes to the polls on Sunday, the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections.