India battling 'epidemic of unemployment', crores of families without stable income: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: The country is battling an "epidemic of unemployment" with crores of families left with no means of a stable income but the government is spending billions just to polish the image of an "arrogant king", Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday.

In a Facebook post in Hindi a day after the debate on price rise in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi said the Congress had tried to get the government to answer the questions of the people during the ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament. However, everyone saw how Opposition MPs were suspended, arrested for protests and the House adjourned.

"Yesterday when the discussion did take place, the government clearly said that 'there is no problem like 'mehngai' (inflation)! "The country is battling an epidemic of unemployment, crores of families are left with no means of stable income. But the government is spending billions of rupees just to polish the image of an 'arrogant king'," Gandhi said, attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In the long post addressed to the people of the country, the former Congress chief said, "Don't consider yourself alone, the Congress is your voice, and you are Congress' strength. We have to fight with every decree of the dictator, every attempt to suppress the voice of the people."

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"For you, the Congress party and myself have been fighting, and will continue to fight. You know very well which issues need to be discussed in the country today because every wrong policy of the government is affecting your life," he said. Gandhi said inflation and the "Gabbar Singh Tax" is a direct attack on the income of the common person. Today's reality is that the common person is struggling not just for his dreams but for his daily bread, he alleged.

"This government wants you to accept everything the dictator says without questioning. I assure you all, there is no need to be afraid of them and suffer dictatorship. They are cowards, afraid of your strength and unity and that is why they are constantly attacking it. If you face them unitedly, they will get scared," Gandhi said. "I promise you, we will neither be afraid nor let them scare you," he added.

On Monday, Opposition members in the lower house blamed the BJP-led Central government's policies for the price rise and accused it of ignoring the plight of common people, saying kitchens will soon "see a lockdown" if the Centre does not take corrective measures.

Replying to the debate on price rise on Monday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said India does not face any risk of either recession or stagflation as its macroeconomic fundamentals are "perfect". BJP leader and former minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha had asserted that there is no 'mehngai' (inflation) and the Opposition has been looking for it but is unable to find it.