The Congress on Friday bluntly told Gujarat that Narendra Modi spreads hatred in society, works for big corporate houses, breaks rival parties by misusing investigative agencies and torments people by destructive decisions like note-bandi and the Agniveer scheme.

As the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra moved into Dahod and Panchmahal, the tribal districts of Gujarat, attracting massive crowds everywhere, Rahul Gandhi sharpened his attack on Modi, telling people how the Prime Minister was handing over national assets to industrialist Gautam Adani and destroying medium and small enterprises by using “weapons” like demonetisation and flawed GST.

“Airports, ports, agriculture trade, electricity, solar and wind power, mining, defence production… Adani is everywhere,” he said amid cheering crowds.

Insisting that Modi closed all the avenues available to the poor and deprived sections by selling off public sector units, Rahul said: “Agniveer is a scheme that no young man of India likes. Not even the army likes Agniveer. But Modi thrust it upon the nation to transfer the money used in training and pension to Adani who is now in defence production. Modi wrote off Rs 16 lakh crore loans that a handful of industrialists owed to banks but not one rupee of farmers and MSMEs. India is a country of love and harmony but Modi is spreading hate.”

Party’s communications chief Jairam Ramesh said at a news conference: “Modi has created Anyay Kaal, which he hawks as Amrit Kaal. He has weakened all forest and environment laws and the Land Acquisition Act. He distorts history and defames Nehru. He is so irresponsible as to avoid visiting strife-torn Manipur, refuses to give MSP to farmers, doesn’t accept the demand for caste census and reduces the price of gas cylinders just before the election after selling it for over Rs 1,000 for years.”

Pointing to his politics of "coercion and blackmail", Ramesh said: “Political parties have one symbol but the BJP has two — Lotus & Washing Machine.”

Gujarat in-charge Mukul Wasnik intervened to say: “In fact, three symbols — central agencies as well. Leaders from other parties are broken away at gunpoint using ED, CBI and income tax. This is a daylight dacoity on democracy....”

Ramesh taunted Modi’s “Ek-Akela” rhetoric saying: “The Prime Minister used to say all these parties ganged up against him. But he revived the dead NDA soon after INDIA came into being. Now he is running after the TDP, the BJD and the AIADMK. He took away the RLD. This shows a lack of confidence.”