Chowkidar will go to jail: says Rahul Gandhi, promises probe into Rafale deal if voted to power

Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi over alleged irregularities over the Rafale jet-purchase deal, Congress president Rahul Gandhi today said that there will be probe into the defence deal if the Congress is voted to power in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking at a rally in Nagpur on Thursday, the Congress president stated that the “chowkidar will go to jail” over the Rafale deal.

Stating that each aircraft had been purchased at the inflated price of Rs 1,600 crore as opposed to its actual valuation of Rs 536 crore, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the  Prime Minister, who calls himself the “chowkidar” of the nation to protect its interests, was in fact responsible for changing the price of the aircrafts.

Inviting the audience to think about whether a “chowkidar” could ever be spotted “outside a labourer’s house”, Rahul Gandhi pointed out that “chowkidars are found outside Anil Ambani’s house” to guard “the money that is stolen”.

The Prime Minister had launched a campaign on March 16 with the tagline “Main Bhi Chowkidar” to announce the role of guarding the nation observed by him and other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members. Later, BJP leaders added the prefix “chowkidar” to their Twitter handles to indicate solidarity with the political campaign ahead of elections.

Referring to the Prime Minister as a “chowkidar” who only worked for the rich, Rahul Gandhi mounted a scathing attack on the BJP leadership for making “false promises” to the people.

Seeking a “long-term relationship” with the people, the Congress president stated that he would only “speak the truth” unlike Narendra Modi who was “ageing” and therefore “panicky”.

Adding that the Prime Minister had promised to deposit Rs 15 lakh in the bank account of every poor person but had not delivered on it, the Congress president described the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) scheme announced in the Congress manifesto to be a “surgical strike” on poverty.

Comparing himself to the central character of Arjuna from Mahabharata, Rahul Gandhi noted that he had “seen” his “target” and was focused on it.