Dehradun, June 5:
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of working to further external interests, claiming that the central government was “systematically dismantling” critical socio-economic protections.
Addressing a public rally in Uttarakhand’s Almora via phone, Rahul accused the central government of being involved in the ‘looting’ of the state’s natural resources.
“The team of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah has destroyed the economic foundation established by the Congress party, which was aimed at empowering the common man. Demonetisation has taken away the money you kept at home for emergencies, and the GST has harmed small businesses across the country,” Rahul stated.
Rahul postponed his scheduled visit to Almora and returned to the Pantnagar airport midway after his helicopter encountered severe weather conditions.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha later addressed the public rally, titled ‘Parivartan ka Shankhnaad’, over a phone call facilitated by Congress general secretary and Uttarakhand in-charge Kumari Selja.
Though a major portion of Gandhi’s address over the phone was not clearly audible, he apologised to the people gathered in Almora for his inability to reach the venue and promised that he would visit them again soon.
“I was scheduled to arrive this morning. However, while we were travelling by the helicopter, the pilot informed us that the weather had deteriorated and we would have to return to Pantnagar,” Gandhi said.