Congress president Rahul Gandhi being garlanded at an poll campaign rally at Panchgram in Silchar. (Photo: PTI)

Hailakandi (Assam): Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “thief and a coward” who runs away from a direct debate with the leader of the main opposition party.

The Congress leader alleged that the Prime Minister’s schemes had benefited only rich businessmen like Anil Ambani, Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi.

“The chowkidar (watchman) is not only chor (thief) but also a coward. As he talks about corruption, I told the chowkidar to debate with me. He does not have the guts and fled away.

“He fled away because then Rafale... Rs 30,000 crore to Anil Ambani will also be discussed. I had asked him why an aircraft worth Rs 526 crore was bought for Rs 1,600 crore... and he ran away,” he told a public rally.

Reaching the venue almost two hours late by road instead of a helicopter from Silchar airport as planned due to heavy rain, Mr Gandhi cited media reports to claim that the Modi government gave money only to rich people like Anil Ambani, Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi and not to the poor.

“Narendra Modi ran the government for five years to benefit only 15 people... He gave money non-stop to the richest people of the country.

After Congress comes to power in 2019, the headlines in newspapers will be about poor people getting money,” he added.

Mr Modi, he claimed, made false promises of creating two crore jobs every year, giving fair price to farmers for their produce and depositing Rs 15 lakh in everyone’s bank accounts.