Rahul accuses Modi of destroying informal economy

August 31, 2020 13:22

File pic

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the Modi government of destroying the informal sector of the economy and trying to enslave it. He charged that the government wants to break this sector and called upon the entire country to unite and fight against this.

He cited demonetisation, "wrong" GST and the lockdown as three examples of government's attempt to destroy the informal sector, that provides 90 per cent jobs to people.

"The BJP government has attacked the informal structure. There is an attempt to turn you into a slave," he charged. "The BJP government has been attacking the informal sector over the past 6 years. I am giving you three massive examples right now -- Demonetisation, wrong GST and Lockdown," he said in a new video series on the economy. "Don't think the lockdown was unplanned. Don't think it was done at the last minute. The aim of these three decisions was to destroy our informal sector," he alleged.

Gandhi said the informal sector, which comprises the poor, farmers and small traders, has a lot of money which the government cannot touch. "They want to break this sector and extort this money from them," he charged.

"The effects of this attack on the informal sector will be seen soon. The results will be that India won't be able to produce jobs. Because the informal sector produces 90 percent of the jobs. Once the informal sector is destroyed India won't be able to produce jobs," he said.

"You are the ones who run this country, You take us forward and there is a conspiracy against you. You are being cheated and there is an attempt to turn you into slaves. We have to understand this attack and the entire country has to unite to fight against this," he also said in the 4-minute video "Let's talk economy".

The former Congress president said in 2008, the world was hit by an economic storm and it affected the entire world, the US, Japan, China and everywhere. He said in the US banks fell, corporations fell and companies shut down and banks also fell in Europe, but India was unaffected and the UPA government was in power at the time.

Gandhi said he went to the prime minister and asked Manmohan Singh what is the reason why the entire world suffered an economic crisis but India remained unaffected. "Manmohan Singh ji replied, Rahul if you want to understand India's economy, you will have to understand that India has two economic structures. One is the formal economy and the other is the informal economy. "You know the big companies which constitute the formal sector. The informal sector comprises farmers, labourers, MSMEs. Till the time India's informal sector is strong, no economic storm can touch India," he said.

Image: Rahul Gandhi revealed that Dr Manmohan Singh had told him that till the time India's informal sector is strong, no economic storm can touch India.

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

Salman home firing: Mumbai police register new case; 1 held in Rajasthan

The accused made the video on a highway in Rajasthan and uploaded it on his channel.

Rajkot civic staffers forged documents day after game zone fire: Police

The civic officials were involved in making forged entries in the inward register on May 26, a day after the incident, pertaining to the impact plan of the TRP game zone. The entry was shown as having been made on May 4, 2024, the police...

'My Father Is My God'

To tell us about your father, just mail us at getahead@rediff.co.in (subject: My father) along with your name, the place where you live, your father's name and picture and your message about him.

19 girls among 58 child labourers rescued in MP distillery crackdown

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights with the Association of Voluntary Action, also known as Bachpan Bachao Andolan, led the crackdown at Som Distillery on Saturday, a release stated.

'There's a noticeable trend towards blending Western and Indian styles'

'The demand for international fashion labels, particularly from tier-II cities and beyond, has seen a notable uptick.'