.jpg?rect=0%2C0%2C3706%2C2085&auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
Rahul Gandhi on Saturday stepped up his attack against the ruling Badals, calling Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal a "symbol of corruption" and asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clear the air on why he was seeking votes for the "corrupt" if he was fighting against the menace.
Rahul, who on Friday began his election tour to poll-bound Punjab, addressed a poll rally in the pocket borough of Sukhbir Badal on Friday in Jalalabad, from where the SAD president is seeking re-election.
The Nehru-Gandhi scion attacked the Akalis for allegedly plundering Punjab and appealed people to vote for the Congress in the 4 February polls "to transform Punjab".
Attacking Sukhbir Badal and Modi, Rahul said:
On the one hand there is the Akali Dal and on the other hand there is Narendra Modi. Mr Modi comes here (to Punjab) and says he is against corruption and is fighting against corruption. In India, maximum corruption takes place in one state. And if there is any symbol of this corruption, it is Sukhbir Singh Badal
Rahul launched a sharp attack on Sukhbir, who is five-time CM Prakash Singh Badal's son.
Attacking Modi in the same breath, Rahul said:
Modi comes here (to Punjab), delivers speech and says he is against corruption and has waged a war against it. Modi tells people here is Sukhbir Badal, you support him, vote for him and re-elect him.
Rahul said the ruling Badals had "plundered" the state for their own interests.
They have ruined the state by controlling everything here. The youth is unemployed while the industry is in shambles.
He promised that if the Congress forms the government in Punjab, then the regime led by Amarinder Singh will bring a tough law to tackle the drug problem.
(With inputs from PTI.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)