Rahul reiterates 'chor' jibe against Modi, says 'watchman' has resorted to thievery

Amethi (UP), Sep 24: Stepping up the attack on the BJP-led Centre over former French president Francois Hollande's claim that the Indian government proposed Reliance Defence as partner for Rafale deal, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday once again said that "chowkidaar" (Watchman) has resorted to "Chori" (Theft).

Rahul Gandhi had last week coined a slogan 'Gali gali me shor hai, Hindustan ka chowkidar chor hai' (There is noise in the streets, India's watchman is a thief) in which chowkidar referrs to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi has called himself as nation's 'chowkidar' (Watchman) many times. Rahul made this remark in the context of allegations levelled by the Congress over the Rafale fighter jets deal with France.

Speaking in Amethi, UP, today (September 24) Rahul said Prime Minister Modi wanted to become the watchman of the country, but "the watchman has resorted to thievery".

"Modi ji ne kaha tha ki woh PM nahi desh ke chowkidaar banna chahte hain. Desh ka chowkidaar (PM Modi) chori kar gaya. Modi ji, France jaate hain aur kehte hain ki Anil Ambani ko contract dena hai. Desh samajhna chahta hai ki desh ke chowkidaar ne kya kiya? (Modi ji said that he is not the Prime Minsiter but the watchman of the country. But the watchman has resorted to theft. Modi ji goes to France and says that give contract to Anil Ambani. The nation wants to know what has the watchman done?," the Congress president asked.

"Modi Ji has snatched away the contract from HAL and gave it to Anil Ambani. They (Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence) do not have any experience in amking aircrafts. Our soldiers sacrifice their lives, Modi ji stole from their pockets and gave it to Anil Ambani," Rahu further said.

Last week, Francois Hollande said that the choice to select Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence as the offset partner of Dassault Aviation (the manufacturer of Rafale fighters) was made by the Indian government and France had no option but to go ahead with it. He said this in an exclusive interview to French journal Mediapart.

#WATCH: Congress President Rahul Gandhi says, "Set up JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) & the truth will come out. But Arun Jaitley's boss Narendra Modi can't do this work. Narendra Modi gives big speeches but never speaks a word on Rafale or Anil Ambani" pic.twitter.com/8ygJxJ5jnd

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 24, 2018

Soon after Hollande's remark, Rahul took to Twitter and said, "PM personally negotiated and changed Rafale deal behind closed doors. Thanks to François Hollande, we now know he personally delivered a deal worth billions of dollars to bankrupt Anil Ambani. PM has betrayed India. He has dishonoured blood of our soldiers."

Rahul is leaving no stone unturned to corner PM Modi-led government over the Rafale fighter jet deal and Vijay Mallya's escape from the country. The Congress trying to build a narrative, with these issues at the core, to take on the BJP in 2019 elections. Rahul has been questioning PM's silence after Mallya last week claimed that he had met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before leaving the country.

It must be recalled that a similar slogan, Gali Gali me shor hai Rajiv Gandhi chor hai, was coined by the opposition parties against Rahul Gandhi's father, Rajiv Gandhi, after the Bofors scam shook tha nation in the late 80s'.