NEW DELHI: The Congress today decided to launch a month-long, countrywide agitation to expose the Modi government on its alleged corruption and scams including the Rafale fighter jet deal in which it has demanded an investigation by a joint parliamentary committee (JPC).
The agitational plan was finalised at a meeting of top Congress leaders including party general secretaries and in-charges of various states and state unit chiefs, chaired by party president Rahul Gandhi.
“It was decided that corruption, scams of the Modi government particularly the Rafale scam will be taken to people of India. In the next 30 days, Congress workers will do district and state level demonstrations. We will ensure a fair probe, independent probe, a JPC is constituted immediately. We will not be deterred and pushed back,” party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told reporters in New Delhi.
The party, he said, discussed the Rafale deal in details and claimed that the scam has cost the exchequer Rs. 41,000 crore. He said a company belonging to the friend of the Prime Minister has been given a contract worth Rs. 30,000 crore under the deal after snatching it away from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
He said the party also demanded that Kerala floods be declared as a “national calamity” and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to play politics in such matters.
He claimed that while the central government has only provided Rs. 100 crore relief to the state government, there has been a huge loss of life and damage to properties to the extent of Rs. 2,000-3,000 crore due to the floods.
“We believe Modiji should stop discriminating in the matters of flood relief between BJP and non-BJP governments. Only mere Rs. 100 crore has bene given to Kerala while there is devastation.
“It’s time the PM rises above political partisan game and come forward as a nation to help the people of Kerala and Karnataka and declare Kerala floods as a national calamity,” he said.
He said the Congress governments in different states are contributing to the relief funds while all party MPs, MLAs, MLCs will donate one-month’s salary for relief measures.
The Punjab government and the JDS-Congress Karnataka government have sent Rs. 10 crore each, while the Puducherry government has contributed Rs. one crore, he said.
The deadliest deluge in Kerala in close to a century has claimed 194 lives since August 8. Over 3.14 lakh people have been moved to relief camps.
