Most of the Gandhi family out on bail, says PM Modi in Chhattisgarh

In his maiden public rally after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost power in Chhattisgarh last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said top Congress leaders are embroiled in legal tangles.

"Most members of the (Gandhi) family are either out on bail or have obtained anticipatory bail," the Prime Minister said, during the rally at Kodatarai in Raigarh district.

Taking potshots at the mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) against the BJP, PM Modi asked people to guard themselves against this "mahamilavat" (highly adulterated) dispensation.

The Congress has betrayed and cheated the Chhattisgarh farmers over the promise of loan waiver in the state, he said.

For electoral gains, the Congress comes up with the promise of loan waiver in every ten years, he added.

Loans of only those farmers who availed them from cooperative and rural banks were waived, the prime minister said.

"What about loans of those who had borrowed from nationalised banks? Are they not entitled to the loan waiver," he asked.

"Why did the Congress not inform people about the criteria for the loan waiver? This is cheating," he added.

"What about farmers who borrowed from 'sahukar' (private moneylender) and relatives. Who will waive their loans? In the name of the loan waiver, Congress has benefited 'bichauliye' (middlemen)," PM Modi said.

The prime minister said the Congress government has decided to obstruct the CBI in the state. "If someone has not done anything (wrong), will he be afraid of an investigation. Can any agency enquire without any reason? People have no problem in this (CBI probe) but the Congress has," he said.

By opting out of the Ayushman Bharat scheme, the Congress government in Chhattisgarh has deprived the poor of healthcare, he claimed.

"I have come amidst you to get a new mandate for a new India... India's poverty has started to decline due to efforts of the BJP-led government," PM Modi said.

-PTI