With Assembly elections in Haryana just seven days away, the top leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress campaigned in the state on Monday.

At a rally in Nuh district, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of taking away money from the poor to hand them over to his “15 rich friends”, PTI reported. He alleged that both Modi and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar ignore the problems of the poor.

“You will see Narendra Modi only with [Donald] Trump and Ambani, but you will never see him with farmers,” Gandhi said. “Narendra Modi is the loudspeaker of Ambani and [Gautam] Adani as he only talks about them all day.”

He asked why Modi, despite claiming to be a nationalist, sold public sector undertakings to his “rich friends”. The former Congress president accused the saffron party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh of dividing the country and its people on the basis of caste, religion, and region like the British. He claimed that Congress united all sections of society.

Gandhi spoke about the Congress’s minimum income guarantee scheme Nyuntam Aay Yojana, or NYAY. He said schemes like these were necessary to put money back in the pockets of the poor and farmers. The scheme, launched before the Lok Sabha elections in April and May, promises that the poorest 20% families in India will get an income support of Rs 72,000 per annum.

Haryana will go to the polls on October 21 and the results will declared three days later.

PM Modi attacks Opposition, says they are ‘crumbling’

Meanwhile, Modi took digs at the Congress, saying those who ruled the country before the BJP did not have the guts to scrap Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status, PTI reported.

The prime minister, who spoke at an election rally in Ballabgarh district, said the massive mandate given to his party in the Lok Sabha elections provided him the strength to take such decisions. He again dared the Opposition to bring back Article 370.

“India is taking big decisions, which no one could think of earlier,” the prime minister said. “Which decision am I talking about? This decision is of Article 370. J&K and Ladakh are moving on path of trust and development and credit for this does not go to Modi, but it goes to 130 crore people of this country. I derive strength from you...”

Modi claimed Opposition parties in the state were crumbling and their attempts to come together were falling apart. He praised Khattar, saying the BJP has a “strong team and a strong captain”.

Also read: What support for Article 370 removal in Haryana reveals about Indian democracy

Now, follow and debate the day’s most significant stories on Scroll Exchange.