Unity of "like-minded parties" was a must to defeat the Modi government in the Lok Sabha election, Congress President Rahul Gandhi declared on Sunday.

"Unity of all like-minded parties is a must. We have to move together to defeat the BJP-led NDA," Gandhi told a Jan Aakansha rally here. This was the first time in many years that the Congress organised a rally in Bihar on its own.

The Congress leader again pledged to cancel farmers' loans if his party came to power after the Lok Sabha elections.

"The Congress governments in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have waived farmers' loans as promised," he said.

"If a Congress-led government comes to power in Delhi, farm loans will be waived across the country."

He also pledged to provide Patna University the status of central university.

Gandhi was at his aggressive best at the rally, also attended by leaders of Congress allies including the RJD, and said his party will play politics on the front foot, not on the back foot.

He expressed confidence that the Congress and its allies would win the Lok Sabha polls.

Gandhi took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding to know what he had done in the last five years to ensure employment for the youth of Bihar.

"Thanks to your empty promises, Bihar is now the centre of unemployment."

Gandhi added that if the Congress formed a government in New Delhi, it will guarantee minimum income to every poor person.

"We will deposit money in the bank accounts of every poor in the country."

Gandhi again called Modi a "chor" (thief) over the Rafale deal.

First Published:Feb 3, 2019 6:53 PM IST