Rahul Gandhi links unemployment, demonetisation, GST to lynchings in India

Rahul, who is now on a four-day tour to Germany and the United Kingdom, attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government, saying the incidents of lynchings are the results of "anger" emanating from joblessness and the "destruction" of small businesses.

Referring to the negative impacts of demonetisation, the Congress president said: "Couple (of) years back, the Prime Minister demonetised the Indian economy and destroyed the cash flow of all MSMEs and millions of people who worked in the informal sector were left unemployed."

"A large number of people who worked in small businesses were forced back into villages. This is what's making people angry. All the lynchings we hear about are the result of this," said he.

In Nov 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that all currencies of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 will be banned from that midnight. Modi had described the step as an effort to curb black money in the country.

Rahul has also accused the BJP government of not allowing all sections of the society to get benefits from the government.

Speaking on the foreign soil, the Congress chief said: "The Dalits, minorities, tribals are now not allowed to gain from the Govt. All the money that used to go into schemes for the poor are now going to a few large corporates."

Tracing the creation of ISIS, he said: "It's very dangerous in the 21st century to exclude people. If you don't give people a vision in the 21st century, somebody else will give them one and that may not be good for the you & the world."

Apart from desiring an involvement of all sections of the society in the country's development, Rahul emphasised on the importance of women's participation in politics.

He said: "When I look at Parliament and political parties, there are very few women representatives. We are championing a Bill for women's reservation, but, deep down it's a cultural issue.

"You cannot build a country if we don't involve women. Indian men have to start viewing women as their equals."

Going back to 1991, when his father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated during an election rally in Tamil Nadu (a southern state of India), Rahul said "forgiveness" is the only solution to "violence".

The Congress president said: "I have suffered violence and I can tell you, there is only one way to let it go- forgiveness. And for forgiveness, you need to understand where it is coming from."

"My father was killed by a terrorist in 1991. When the same terrorist died few years later, I wasn't happy. I saw myself in his children," said he.

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Velupillai Prabhakaran, who was responsible for Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, was killed in Sri Lanka in 2009.

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