Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said loans of farmers will be waived if his party comes to power at the Centre.

Addressing a rally in Sakoli in Maharashtra's Bhandara district, he said the main issues plaguing the people of the country were unemployment and inflation, though these were ignored by the media.

"Loans of farmers will be waived if the Congress comes to power. People are distressed due to unemployment and inflation. The situation is such that people earning just thousands and those making crores are paying the same GST," he said while attacking the NDA government at the Centre.

Gandhi said his party would conduct a caste census after attaining power since it is important for the future of the country.

Slamming the Centre's Agnipath programme, in which soldiers called 'Agniveers' are recruited for four years, Gandhi said it would be scrapped since "the Army was not in its favour".

Attacking Modi, he said the prime minister, who calls himself an OBC, must tell the country what he has done for the segment in his 10-year rule.

The Union government is working for a few industrialists, while common people are getting nothing, he claimed.

"Just 22 persons have wealth equivalent to that held by 50 per cent of the country's population. But Modi only keeps talking about religion and tries to create enmity among castes and communities," Gandhi alleged.

He claimed the share prices of firms owned by Gautam Adani had skyrocketed during the 10-year rule of Modi, with the billionaire now having stakes in every sphere from airports to ports to roads, bridges, coal mines and power plants.

While people were seeking medical help during the COVID-19 pandemic, Modi was asking them to beat "thalis" and flash mobile phone torches, Gandhi said.

Sakoli is part of the Bhandara-Gondiya Lok Sabha seat, from where the Congress has fielded Dr Prashant Padole.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.