Amritsar, May 11 (ANI): Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Monday described Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh as the “pride of Punjab and the country”.

Sharing the stage for the first time with Dr. Singh at an election rally here, he said: ” The Prime Minister is the “pride of Punjab and the country”, who had taken India forward in all spheres.”

Speaking on the UPA Government’s work for the ‘aam admi’, he said the UPA Government would always stand for the ‘aam admi’ unlike the NDA.

“When the Congress Government came to power in 2004, Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi and we all made just one promise that we will work for the ‘aam admi,’ Punjab farmer, labourers, Dalit. It will be there government. We functioned as per our promise.”

Ridiculing the NDA’s slogan ‘India Shining’, he said the slogan in English was only meant for the privileged.

“The BJP leaders told the entire country that India is shining. But they did not go to the houses of the poor, the farmers, the Dalit and other weaker sections. They just went to the houses of the rich,” he added.

He also underlined the Employment Guarantee Scheme as the UPA’s biggest achievement.

Further, highlighting other achievements, he said the UPA waived agriculture loans worth Rs 70,000 crore and provided right to every citizen of the country to secure any information under the Right to Information Act.”

“Not only the loans worth Rs 70,000 crore were waived, but the doors of the banks were opened for new loans,” he added. (ANI)