Rahul Gandhi Under "Depression": Union Minister Over Jibe For PM

Union minister G Kishan Reddy has hit out at Rahul Gandhi over his "panauti" (bad omen) remark, saying the Congress leader utters these words as he is "under depression" and does not foresee a future in politics. The Union culture and tourism minister said this on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi on Wednesday night.

The Election Commission has asked Mr Gandhi to be more careful and cautious in his public utterances in the wake of his "panauti" and "pickpocket" jibes at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources earlier said.

"Rahul Gandhi doesn't understand what he speaks. He is under depression. He does not foresee a future (for himself) in politics. So, under depression he says these things that he doesn't understand," Mr Reddy said in response to a query from PTI Videos, on the sidelines of North East Investors Summit.

Mr Reddy, who also holds the portfolio of Development of the North Eastern Region (DoNER), shared his thoughts on bringing "vikas (development) in the northeastern states".

"The government of India is making efforts to bring investment in northeastern states because these are small states and cannot organise such (large) events. They have limited network. So, between these states and investors, the DoNER ministry works as a bridge," he said.

The state governments and the central government can work in tandem to encourage investors, the Union minister said.

"Earlier in northeastern states, a stable government was an issue, law and order problems were there, and central government schemes would not get properly implemented earlier," Mr Reddy told PTI Videos.
After the Modi government came to power, a conducive environment is coming for investment in these states as connectivity is good, road and rail connectivity is also increasing, and "if we encourage investment, in coming days it will increase", he added.

As it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision -- Viksit Bharat by 2047 -- for a developed India, each corner of the country has to be developed and each person must grow. Employment generation should be there, connectivity should increase and education sector should be doing good.

Mr Reddy said PM Modi has fondness for the northeastern region, and he has visited the region "65 times in the past 9.5 years".

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)