Rahul Gandhi in Barabanki: Modi cannot pressure me, I have no past to hide

Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday that he had punctured the myth of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clean image, and that unlike other opposition leaders he could not be pressured by the Prime Minister because he had nothing in his past to fear.

Addressing a public meeting at the Union Inter College ground in Ramnagar, Barabanki, Gandhi said the leverage over Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP president Mayawati lay with Modi, but his own situation was different. He was campaigning for Tanuj, son of party veteran PL Punia and the Congress candidate for the reserved Barabanki seat.

Charges against Modi

Gandhi accused the Prime Minister of lying, asking whether people had received the promised ₹15 lakh in their bank accounts and whether jobs had been created. He alleged that only 15 people had benefited under Modi, and that about Rs 55,000 crore had gone to people such as Anil Ambani, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

He said Modi often spoke about the surgical strike, but the real surgical strike on poverty would be the Congress’s NYAY scheme, which he said he had devised after consulting economists and which aims to transfer money to the poor. He said he wanted to help nearly 25 crore poor people.

Congress promises

• Modi had spoken of 2 crore jobs; Gandhi said he would not make that promise, but that within one year of taking power the Congress would fill 22 lakh vacant government posts.
• He said jobs would also be provided to 10 lakh youngsters.
• No farmer would be sent to jail for failing to repay a loan.
• Farmers would get a separate budget.

What happened next

In the results declared on 23 May 2019, the BJP won 303 seats and the Congress 52 of the 543 in the Lok Sabha, and Modi began a second term on 30 May 2019.

See also: Indian National Congress.

Originally published on 2 May 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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