If the Congress comes to power in Madhya Pradesh, its chief minister will devote 18 hours a day to give employment to the youth, party chief Rahul Gandhi said at a rally in the state on Monday. He reiterated his promise to waive farmer loans within 10 days if the Congress wins the November 28 elections.

Gandhi, who is on a two-day tour of the state, offered prayers at the Maa Peetambara Peeth temple complex in Datia. At a public meeting after the temple visit, the Congress President continued his criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Seventy years ago, the entire country was poor, there were no roads, rail lines, aeroplanes, universities and colleges, there was just the Indian public,” Gandhi said. “Yet, Prime Minister Modi in his August 15 speech says that there was no progress until he arrived. This is an insult to the people who have contributed their sweat and blood for this nation.”

Gandhi claimed that while the previous Congress-led government had waived farm loans worth Rs 70,000 crore, the Narendra Modi government has waived loans worth “Rs 3.5 lakh crore of only 15-20 rich industrialists” in the last four years. “I have personally appealed to PM Modi to waive loans of farmers,” the Congress president said. “Earlier, farmers used to get bonus or compensation for crop loss. But Narendra Modi was silent.”

Gandhi also repeated his promise to set up food processing units in every district.