Rahul Gandhi holds empty pot at poll rally, takes ‘Chombu’ swipe at Modi’s BJP

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party looted public money and gave them an empty pot in return, calling the BJP ‘Bharatiya Chombu Party’. Chombu in Kannada means round water pot, which is sometimes used to convey emptiness and deception.
“Looted the public’s money in abundance and in return was given an empty pot – this is Modi’s Bharatiya Chombu Party!” Rahul Gandhi said on X and posted a photograph of him holding a pot at an election rally in Karnataka.
Read: Modi points to another video of Manmohan Singh speaking on Muslims, dares Congress
Earlier today, Rahul Gandhi addressed public meetings in the district headquarters towns of Vijayapura and Ballari where he took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his relentless attack on the Congress, saying he is scared and may even shed tears on the stage.
“You have heard the prime minister’s speeches. He is scared. It’s possible that he may shed tears on stage,” Gandhi said.
Modi has stepped up the attack on the Congress party over issues that didn’t find mention in his speeches before the first phase of polling, including “mangalsutra”, “redistribution of wealth” and “inheritance tax” charges. Modi has alleged that the Congress would take away the wealth of the common public and give it to Muslims.
Read: Congress has Muslim League’s agenda, says Amit Shah in Chhattisgarh
Modi doubled down on the Congress’s alleged plan to redistribute wealth and said that an advisor to the party’s ‘shehzada’ (a reference to Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi) has now suggested imposing an inheritance tax. was referring to remarks by Sam Pitroda, president of the Indian Overseas Congress who has talked about the inheritance tax law in the United States while answering a query on the redistribution of wealth issue.
Gandhi accused Modi of ‘diverting public attention’ through various means.
“Sometimes he talks about China and Pakistan, and sometimes he will make you beat plates and ask you to switch on the torch light of your mobile phones.”
Taking a dig at the BJP, he said: “I will tell you what the BJP is going to do. It’s Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Chombu Party which is empty. For every ₹100 it (Karnataka) gives to the country (as GST), it gets only ₹13 in return (under tax devolution).”
“Karnataka was supposed to get about ₹18,000 crore for drought relief, but it got ‘Chombu’. The Finance Commission did not give ₹60,000 crore. Only Chombu was given,” the Congress leader said.