Rahul Gandhi addresses youth workers of the Congress (Press Trust of India photo)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited his predecessor Dr Manmohan Singh for an hour-long lesson in how to run the economy, said Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today, in yet another speech filled with jibes at PM Modi.
"After Manmohanji said yesterday that the economy is going down, the PM invited him for an hour-long pathshala (class). Perhaps he tried to understand how the economy runs, I will ask Dr Singh," said Mr Gandhi, smiling as he drew a roar of laughter from his audience, made up of members of the NSUI, the Congress student's wing.
On Wednesday evening, PM Modi met Dr Singh at the former's Race Course Road residence in what was described by the Prime Minister's Office as a courtesy call. Dr Singh's office said the PM had invited Dr Singh to discuss the economy and foreign policy.
Hours earlier, Dr Singh had, in an uncharacteristically aggressive speech questioned the Modi government's claims on economic development, saying rural India was in acute distress and that the economic recovery was "fragile."
Today, Mr Gandhi once again ripped into PM Modi and his BJP-led government's reforms agenda alleging that it was "making mistake after mistake."
"Make in India will amount to zero... why wait five years, see their record of the past one year," Rahul Gandhi said of the PM's pet initiative and exhorted his audience to "start spreading the word."
He also asked his cadres to counter what he called the ruling BJP's attempt to "impose RSS ideology" in the country, saying, "Wherever they want to bring RSS order, please take your Congress disorder there to stop them."
Attacking the RSS for its famed discipline, Mr Gandhi said, "Discipline is an excuse for suppressing individuality."
The Congress leader also brought up familiar themes in his recent speeches like PM Modi's foreign visits, this time saying, "Modiji has visited even Mongolia, but he has not visited a farmer's house."