Rahul chides Modi govt for 'image correction’ amid 'economic slump, Chinese aggression'

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took an aim at the Modi government for 'spending' taxpayers' money on 'image correction’ while the country is facing challenges like 'economic slump' and 'unemployment'. He also mentioned 'Chinese aggression' in reference to the tense border faceoffs in Eastern Ladakh since May.

The Wayanad MP was citing a news report that said the Modi government is building a massive publicity campaign around its planned perception-overhaul exercise to improve India’s ranking on 29 global indices.

As the country faces the twin blow of the Coronavirus pandemic and subsequent economic hardship, Gandhi has raised his pitch to attack the NDA government over its handling of both the issues. He has also tried to corner the BJP over the recent border tensions with China in Ladakh and, recently over reports of Facebook's alleged closeness with BJP-RSS.

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the organised and unorganised sectors of the Indian economy were struggling even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country, adding that the situation will not improve until money as part of a relief package is directly given to farmers, labourers, and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

“Organised and unorganised economies were in bad condition even before the COVID-19. The situation cannot improve until the money is given directly to farmers, laborers and MSMEs," Gandhi tweeted, along with a clip of his address.

In the video, the 50-year-old leader claimed that the Congress-run Chhattisgarh government has been doing ground-breaking work to help the poor, farmers, and small businesses through various schemes.

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Predicts massive unemployment

On Thursday, the former Congress president accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of destroying the unorganised sector of the economy. Mentioning that this sector accounts for 90% of the total employment in the country, he predicted that India will be unable to provide jobs to the youth. He claimed that many companies will collapse one by one after the moratorium period ends. 

Gandhi recalled that his warning of heavy loss to the economy at the advent of COVID-19 crisis went unheeded. Elaborating on his point, the Wayanad MP contended that key employers such as small and medium businesses can't give jobs as they themselves have been "destroyed". 

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