PM Modi Accused of Being the Epitome of Corruption: Rahul Gandhi in a Joint Press Conference with Akhilesh Yadav

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress party on Wednesday, launched a fierce critique of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, labeling him as "the epitome of corruption". During a joint press conference in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Gandhi claimed that Modi "operated the largest extortion scheme in the world under the guise of 'Electoral Bonds'".

Gandhi further stated that all Indian businessmen are aware of this, and no amount of clarification from the Prime Minister will change their perception. He emphasized that the entire country recognizes the Prime Minister as the epitome of corruption.

The Congress leader reiterated that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections represent a clash of two ideologies. He said, "On one hand, the RSS and BJP are attempting to dismantle the Constitution and the democratic system, while on the other hand, the INDI alliance and the Congress party are striving to defend and protect the Constitution and democracy."

Gandhi also accused the BJP and the Prime Minister of diverting attention from the real issues in the elections. He said, "There are 2-3 major issues in the elections. Unemployment is the biggest and inflation is the second biggest, but the BJP is engaged in creating distractions…Neither the Prime Minister nor the BJP talks about the issues."

Gandhi expressed that there is a strong undercurrent against the BJP and predicted that the saffron party would secure 150 seats in the upcoming general elections.

On the occasion of Ram Navami, SP president Akhilesh Yadav, who joined Gandhi at the press conference, stated that the dreams shown to the farmers and the youth by the BJP proved to be false. He said, "Today the farmer is unhappy, all the promises that were made to them, turned out to be false. Neither the farmers’ income doubled, nor did the youth get jobs."

The SP chief also expressed confidence that the Opposition’s alliance will defeat the BJP-led NDA in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. He said, "PDA – Pichre (backward), Dalit, and Alpashankhak (minority) – is going to defeat NDA."

The Congress and the Samajwadi Party, constituents of the Opposition’s INDIA alliance, have formed an alliance to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. As per their agreement, the Congress party will contest 17 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state, while the Samajwadi Party will contest 62. The remaining seat has been allocated to the INDIA ally partner, the Trinamool Congress (TMC).