New Delhi, February 6: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi struck back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for targeting his party and late former PM Jawaharlal Nehru in his address in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The Gandhi scion demanded the government to focus on creating jobs and addressing unemployment, rather than deflecting the nation's attention from "real issues". Highlights of PM Modi's Address in Lok Sabha.

According to Gandhi, the Prime Minister is deliberately bringing Pakistan in his public address to suppress questions related to unemployment and looming economic slowdown. Archaic issues, including the decisions made by Nehru, the first PM of India, is also being brought at the centre of discussion to ward off the criticism over "mishandling" of the economy, the former Congress chief said.

"The biggest issue today is unemployment and jobs, we asked PM many times, but he did not say a word on this. Earlier, the Finance Minister gave a long speech but she also did not say a word on it," Gandhi said. "PM Modi's style is to distract the country from core issues. He talks of Congress, of Jawaharlal Nehru, of Pakistan, etc but not of core issues," he further added.

Update by ANI

PM Modi, while replying to the motion of thanks on President's address in the Lok Sabha today, lashed out at the Opposition parties over their alleged vote bank politics. Had the Congress till been in power, Modi said, the issue of Ram Mandir and Article 370 repeal would have remained stranded.

The Prime Minister blamed Nehru for the creation of Pakistan, suggesting that undivided India would had remain integrated had he not taken over the reigns from the British regime. Modi also invoked Nehru while defending the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), saying, "Pandit Nehru himself was in favour of protecting minorities in Pakistan, I want to ask Congress, was Pandit Nehru communal? Did he want a Hindu Rashtra?"

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 06, 2020 03:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).