Lok Sabha elections 2019: Rahul Gandhi criticised BJP manifesto as lacking vision
Rahul Gandhi tweeted today that the ruling BJP's manifesto for the national election was the "voice of an isolated man, short-sighted and arrogant". At the launch of the BJP manifesto on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had remarked that "people sitting in AC rooms cannot fix poverty". The Congress president's tweet is seen by many as a response to that jab.
"The Congress manifesto was created through discussion. The voice of over a million Indian people it is wise and powerful," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.
"The BJP Manifesto was created in a closed room. The voice of an isolated man, it is short sighted and arrogant."
PM Modi and top ministers launched the BJP's manifesto, promising an emphasis on national security, zero tolerance against terrorism and the creation of sustainable job opportunities. The party also outlines welfare schemes for farmers and others, a Rs 100 lakh crore investment in infrastructure and tax breaks for the middle class in next five years.
The manifesto reiterates the party's causes - a Ram temple in Ayodhya and the scrapping of Article 370, 35A dealing with special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
"Nationalism is our inspiration, empowering the poor is our philosophy and good governance is our mantra", PM Modi said at the mega launch.
The Congress, in its manifesto launched last week, headlined the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) scheme, which promises Rs 72,000 a year for 20 per cent of India's poorest. The opposition party promises farm loan waiver in other states on the pattern of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. It also promises to review and replace the current Goods and Services Tax (GST) laws with a "GST 2.0 regime" based on a single, moderate, standard rate of tax on all goods and services.