Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a thief and a coward.
"I address press conferences; have you seen the 'chowkidar' addressing a press conference? He is not only a 'chor' but also 'darpok'," Gandhi said addressing a rally at MMRDA grounds in suburban Bandra.
He went onto accuse Modi of spreading lies all the time. "If you want to hear truth come here, but if you want to hear lies then go to Narendra Modi's rallies," Gandhi said, accusing Modi of protecting absconding diamond merchant Mehul Choksi.
He went on to say that the Congress would provide 500 sq feet houses for slum-dwellers in Mumbai under the slum development scheme if voted to power.
Earlier in the day Gandhi accused Modi being driven by public relations. "India's Prime Minister cannot leave his public relations for even five minutes," Congress President Rahul Gandhi said at rally in Maharashtra's Dhule district on Friday.
Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not missing an opportunity to target the Congress party, Gandhi said the BJP leader even used the inauguration of the National War Memorial for the purpose.
“Our prime minister tells the media that India is united after the Pulwama terror attacks, but immediately targets Congress.... That is the difference between him and us,” Gandhi said.
Unlike the BJP the Congress did not criticise the government following the airstrikes, Gandhi said. “I had instructed the Congress workers and leaders not to level any allegation against the government in wake of the airstrikes. I had said that India should stand united," he said.
Gandhi went on to accuse the Modi government of failing to fulfill the promises made to the country.
"Only 15 industrialists in the country benefited from loans to the tune of Rs 3.5 lakh crore. The same money could have helped the country's unemployed youth obtain an assured income," he said. The Congress president said his party would come up with an assured minimum income for all youth in the country if voted to power.
Gandhi also accused the BJP of spreading hatred everywhere. He asked the people of Maharashtra to vote for Congress since its ideology of love and harmony was part of their DNA.
“This country belongs to everyone. There are different religions, languages and castes. Wherever the BJP goes it spreads hatred whereas the Congress spreads love," he said.