Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was exasperated because the Congress leader was not scared of him and that his perceived ploy of mounting pressure through central agencies had not worked.

Addressing a public rally in Uttarakhand on Thursday, Rahul said: “The Prime Minister said Rahul Gandhi doesn’t listen. Ye meri nahin sunta. Jitna bhi dabav daalo, peechhe nahin hatta. Kyun sunu (He does not listen to me. No matter how much pressure I apply, he does not back off. Why should I listen)? He is right. What he meant is that the pressure of his ED and CBI do not work on me. He thinks everybody is scared of him. He can suppress anybody. But I am not scared of him.”

Asked about Rahul’s criticism that Modi didn’t answer issues raised by him, the Prime Minister had on Wednesday night said in an interview to ANI: “How can I respond to somebody who doesn’t listen, who doesn’t sit in Parliament.”

Rahul has raised questions about the Chinese threat, growing economic inequality, and attack on federalism. Modi touched upon none of these issues in his speeches in Parliament.

Rahul raised the issues again at the rally. “I said in Parliament that two Indias are being created. While there is nothing for the poor, the rich get anything they want in the Modi regime. Ports, airports and any business… everything is available for the rich. But there is no consideration for the poor. In fact, Modi is snatching whatever is with the poor and transferring it to the rich.”

He added: “I said Chinese forces were sitting in Indian territory. But Modi didn’t speak a word on these issues. He only attacked the Congress and me. Why should I listen to the Prime Minister who spreads hatred, who has destroyed the economy with demonetisation and the flawed GST? He brought three farm laws to hand over agriculture trade to the rich. He didn’t help the poor during the lockdown. He doesn’t do his job and blames others. He blamed the Congress for helping the poor during Covid.”

Dwelling on unemployment, Rahul said: “Forget fulfilling his promise of creating two crore jobs every year; he snatched jobs. The Congress government lifted 27 crore people out of poverty. Modi pushed 23 crore back into poverty. Barely 100 people control as much wealth as possessed by 40 per cent of the population of the country. The entire strategy is to take from the people and hand it over to friends. The international price of crude oil crashed but petrol-diesel continued to be costlier. This was a direct transfer scheme for the rich.”

Rahul, who hasn’t so far campaigned in the key state of Uttar Pradesh, has been focusing on Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Goa where the Congress fancies its chances of victory. He recalled how the BJP changed three chief ministers in Uttarakhand, claiming that they were corrupt.

He talked of the Congress’s promises in Uttarakhand — gas cylinders for Rs 500 each and Rs 40,000 to every poor in a year under the Nyay scheme.