Congress leader Rahul Gandhi narrowly avoided a mishap on Monday when a portion of the stage at an election rally in Paliganj, Bihar, caved in. Gandhi was campaigning for RJD president Lalu Prasad's daughter, Misa Bharti, contesting the Patliputra Lok Sabha seat. Bharti was leading Gandhi to his seat when a part of the stage sagged, causing him to struggle for balance. She quickly grabbed his hand, helping him regain stability. They were seen reassuring security personnel that he was unharmed.
Taking a jibe at Modi's "sent by God" comment, Gandhi remarked in Paliganj, "After June 4, if ED asks Modi about corruption, he will say I don't know anything... I was sent by God." He accused the Prime Minister of creating 22 billionaires while the INDIA bloc government would create crores of millionaires. Gandhi also alleged that Modi waived loans worth Rs 16 lakh crore of his billionaire friends, accusing him of taking money from the poor to benefit corporates who invested it abroad.
"This election is to save the country, save the constitution, save democracy, and save reservation for the poor," he said, as per PTI.
Gandhi also promised that an I.N.D.I.A. bloc government would reopen closed industries and fill 30 lakh job vacancies.
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I.N.D.I.A. Would Scrap Agnipath Scheme If Voted To Power: Rahul Gandhi
Earlier in the day, addressing a rally at Bakhtiyarpur, Rahul Gandhi announced that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, if voted to power, would scrap the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the defence services and deposit Rs 8,500 monthly into every woman's account. "The INDIA bloc, if voted to power, will throw the Agnipath scheme into the dustbin. Modi Ji has turned soldiers into labourers. The Centre has made two categories in the Army — Agniveer and the others. If an Agniveer gets injured or martyred, he will neither get a martyr status nor compensation. Why this discrimination?" Gandhi said, as quoted by PTI.
The Agnipath scheme, introduced by the Narendra Modi government in 2022, recruits young soldiers, termed 'Agniveers', on a contractual basis for four years, retiring 75 per cent of them without certain benefits.
The former Congress president further promised financial empowerment for women, stating, "From July, Rs 8,500 will be deposited in women's accounts every month. This will change the financial condition of every family."
The rallies saw the presence of prominent INDIA bloc leaders, including RJD leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, CPI (ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, and VIP chief Mukesh Sahni.