NEW DELHI (TIP): The poll-bound state of Gujarat on Tuesday saw a high pitched battle as Rahul Gandhi slammed the BJP government in the state and the Centre stating that the saffron party had duped the people of the state by not fulfilling its promises and giving all the money to industrialists.

On a three-day tour of Gujarat, the Congress vice-president stepped up his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the alleged business dealings of BJP chief Amit Shah‘s son Jay, asking him if he was a “partner” in the “theft”.

He said that the BJP had made tall promises at the time of election but scored a zero when it comes to deliverables. The Gandhi scion sought to play up issues like farmers’ crisis, demonetisation, and lack of jobs in the prime minister’s home state.

“How much money did you get in your homes out of the so-called Gujarat model of development?” Gandhi asked a cheering crowd in Vadodara. Gandhi also criticised the state government over the issue of high debt.

“The debt of Gujarat has reached Rs 2 lakh crore. Despite taking so much debt for development works, there has been no improvement in the condition of farmers and the poor,” Gandhi said.

The Congress leader began day two of his ‘Navsarjan Yatra’ in central Gujarat region by addressing students in Vadodara. He made a stop at Padra village in Vadodara after which he interacted with Anganwadi workers and Khadi India showroom workers at Karjan.

Gandhi also visited Dabhoi and then interacted with people displaced due to the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Pansoli.

Gandhi also decided to participate in the traditional Timli dance with the locals in Chota Udaipur, his last stop for the day. The Congress vice-president, who was on the second leg of his campaign tour in the poll-bound home state of Modi, frequently raked up the issue of Jay’s business dealings to target the prime minister as well as Shah at about 10 small and big public meetings that he addressed throughout the day.

He also criticised Union ministers and BJP leaders who defended the BJP chief’s son, saying that they should change the name of the government’s flagship scheme for the girl child —“Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” — to “Amit Shah ke bete ko bachao (save Amit Shah’s son)”.

“A theft has taken place in front of the eyes of the chowkidar (watchman), but you are silent. The question is are you a watchman or a partner?” Gandhi questioned, attacking Modi over a report published in news portal The Wire where it claimed that a firm owned by Jay saw a huge rise in turnover after the BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014.

Gandhi’s comments were a mockery of Modi’s comments made at his public meetings during the 2014 Lok Sabha campaign. Modi used to say that he did not want to become the prime minister but a ‘chowkidar’ of people’s wealth.

“The company was formed six to seven years ago. Modiji came (to power in 2014) and launched ‘Start up India’, ‘Make in India‘. He then introduced demonetisation and GST. This destroyed small businesses and farmers,” Gandhi told the gathering.