Deve Gowda slams Rahul Gandhi over manifesto: Congress promised things 'only a party sure of never coming to power will'

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Slamming the Congress and Rahul Gandhi for the party's manifesto which allegedly promises “wealth redistribution”, former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) supremo HD Deve Gowda on Wednesday said they have promised things that only a party who knows it won't be elected to power would. 

He also claimed that the Congress, with its manifesto, has 'insulted' two of its Prime Ministers – Manmohan Singh and Narsimha Rao – who had devised the economic reforms to the country.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the former PM released a statement for his press conference earlier in the day on his opinion on the wealth redistribution debate. 

"The Congress has promised so many things in its manifesto that only a party that is very sure of never coming to power will promise. They want to turn the country upside down. They want power at any cost," Gowda said.

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Lambasting Rahul Gandhi, the JDS supremo said the Congress leader wants to conduct a wealth survey and redistribute wealth. “Does he think he is a Maoist leader? Is he dreaming of a revolution?”

He further claimed that the Wayanad MP has "torn up" the 1991 economic reforms “just like he had torn up an ordinance issued by the Manmohan Singh government”.

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"By speaking of wealth redistribution Rahul has insulted and humiliated two Congress Prime Ministers who brought market reforms and increased the wealth of this nation. He is indirectly trying to say that all that the two Congress prime ministers did was wrong," he stated.

Deve Gowda was referring to the 2013 incident when Rahul tore the ordinance that sought to overturn the Supreme Court ruling that disqualifies all MPs and MLAs convicted with a minimum two-year sentence.

He also questioned whether former Home Minister P Chidambaram, who was the chairman of the manifesto committee, agrees with Rahul Gandhi's "immature" economic ideas.