Modi keeps distance from poor: Rahul in Meghalaya

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday fired his 'suit-boot ki sarkar' salvo at Prime Minister Narendra Modi afresh, saying he was always found in the company of people attired in suits and not those that are poor.

Unruffled after being attacked by the Meghalaya unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party over the price of the black jacket he wore on Tuesday at a concert here, Gandhi said, "You will not see him (PM) hug a poor person, talk to a poor person or even engage with a poor person. You will see him with others.

"There is a particular distance he maintains with the poor people which he does not with Mr Obama or others," he told journalists.

"The fact of the matter is that he (Modi) is still a suit-boot person. He has not done anything....," Gandhi said.

The Congress president said the prime minister had promised to create 2 crore jobs a year but failed to achieve the target.

In an apparent retort to Rahul Gandhi's suit-boot ki sarkar jibe, the BJP had claimed the Congress president wore a jacket worth $995 (about Rs 64,000) at a concert oragnised by his party in the poll-bound state on Tuesday.

'So @OfficeOfRG, soot(pun intended!)-boot ki sarkar with 'black' money fleeced from Meghalayan State exchequer by rampant corruption? Instead of singing away our woes, you could have given a report card of your inefficient govt in Meghalaya! Your indifference mocks us!' the BJP's Meghalaya unit tweeted.

The party's state unit also tweeted an image of a jacket similar to the one Gandhi wore having a price tag of $995.

The BJP, which intends to give a tough fight to the ruling Congress in the Meghalaya assembly elections, also accused the Congress of distracting voters by organising a soiree.

'Rock concert distraction tactics by the @OfficeOfRG to take away focus of Meghalayan voters from real issues on ground! A prince can fuss over 'fuddy-duddy chopper' rides & cancel his Tura trip, but ever wondered how people in Meghalaya travel,' the BJP tweeted.

Gandhi met Church representatives earlier on Wednesday in the Christian dominated state where elections to the 60-member assembly would be held on February 27.

Two Churches in Meghalaya recently turned down Rs 70 crore assistance announced by the Centre.

There are many different visions, missions and ideas in the country and all of them should have a voice, Gandhi said.

"There is tremendous anger and discomfort among a lot of people and they believe that this country is made up of a million perspectives, and to force only one perspective is not right," Gandhi said.

IMAGE: Congress president Rahul Gandhi at the party workers' meeting in Shillong on Tuesday. Photograph: PTI Photo