Hoshiarpur, Feb 15 : Unemployment is rampant in every state in the country and it is due to demonetisation, which has not only ruined small and medium trades but also hit hard every section of the society including farmers, labourers and the poor. These views were expressed by MP and Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi while addressing an election rally Navi Soch Nava Punjab in favour of Congress candidate from Hoshiarpur assembly segment MLA Sunder Sham Arora at local Roshan Ground here on Monday. Rahul Gandhi said before coming to power Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he would deposit Rs 15 lakh in the bank accounts, and would give employment to 2 crore youths in the country. The central government brought demonetisation under the guise of taking out black money and got the money out of the pockets of people the country. Only 2-3 billionaires of the country had benefited from the demonetisation and GST, claimed Rahul Gandhi. PM Narendra Modi had announced demonetisation to weed out black money from the country on November 8, 2016. The Congress leader questioned why Narendra Modi did not speak on corruption or employment now. He said the country’s farmers’ especially of Punjab, fought against the three controversial central farm black laws on Delhi’s borders and other parts of the country for a year by remaining hungry especially in winters. He alleged that PM Modi tried to give hard work of farmers to 2-3 billionaires of the country. He even did not give two minute silence in the memory of those farmers who lost their lives during their struggle against the black farm laws in the Parliament and did not provide any compensation to them. Rahul said Charanjit Singh Channi belongs to a poor family and understands poverty very well. Channi would run a government of the poor, small and medium traders, labourers, farmers etc. and not of the rich, if voted to power. Criticising Home Minister Amit Shah for his recent speech on drugs problem in Punjab, he questioned why he did not come to Punjab when Shiromani Akali Dal’s government was in state. When he came to Panjab University for a function and talked about the drugs problem in Punjab, then BJP and SAD leaders made fun of him and said that Rahul Gandhi was lying. He claimed that Charanjit Singh Channi’s government hit hard on drug peddlers and had broken the back of drug trade. Rahul condemned the Aam Adami Party’s government in Delhi and said it had failed on all fronts. He said only Congress could maintain peace in border state Punjab. AAP has no experience to handle Punjab, he said. He also appreciated Charanjit Singh Channi’s government for slashing electricity rates and tax on petrol etc. and for implementing various welfare schemes for the state populace. Rahul Gandhi also announced to install Food Park and Machines tools cluster in Hoshiarpur. He appealed to the electorates to vote in favour of Congress candidate Sunder Sham Arora on coming February 20. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi and Navjot Singh Sidhu paid rich tributes to the martyrdom of brave soldiers of the country who were martyred in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir. Congress leaders including MLAs Sunder Sham Arora, Arun Dogra, Pawan Adia and former MP Santosh Chaudhary presented a portrait of Guru Ravidas to Rahul Gandhi on the occasion. Others who spoke on the occasion were President PPCC Navjot Singh Sidhu and Chairman Congress Campaign Committee, Punjab, Sunil Jakhar. Prominent amongst those present on the occasion were MP Depender Singh Hooda, Chetan Chauhan, and Tajinder Singh Bittu, both Secretaries of AICC, MLAs Sukhjinder Singh Sukhu, Sunder Sham Arora, Pawan Kumar Adiya and Arun Dogra, Ex. MP Santosh Chaudhary and President Overseas NRI Wing (USA) Congress Daljit Singh Sahota.
