Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh): Escalating the attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused him of dividing the country between the rich and the poor and dubbed the move as “firebombing” on cash economy and farmers and labourers.

Addressing a public rally here, Rahul said the prime minister’s decision to ban high-value currency notes has removed the “hat” of Himachal Pradesh as it has hit hard the state’s horticulture, agriculture and tourism sectors.

“Himachal’s brave soldiers carried out the surgical strikes, but Modiji thought of launching a new drama. He launched the surgical strike on corruption. On one side, the brave give away their blood and life, but here, he did surgical strike on black money and corruption. Modiji, this is not a surgical strike on black money and corruption. This is a firebombing and economic-bombing on the poor, farmers and labourers,” he said.

“You have burnt the fields of honest Himachal farmers, and you did so with a smile on your face. This note ban step was against all the honest people of India,” he added.

Accusing the prime minister of dividing the country between the rich and the poor, Rahul said, “Modiji you have tried to divide India into two parts.”

“On one side are the 1% rich comprising 50 families who have private aircraft and big buildings and on other side, there are 99 % honest people of India — the farmers, labourers and the middle class who built this country with their sweat and blood. You tried to divide the people of the country,” he said.

He said that in the Second World War, a new way to firebomb in 25 minutes evolved and more people died in Tokyo firebombing than in Hiroshima bombing.

“The same way Modiji has done firebombing on the poor, farmers and labourers. You have done firebombing on India’s cash economy. Not on 94% of black money where it was to be done. Not on 1% people possessing black money, but on 99% poor people of the country.

“A note has no colour. There is an honest person on one side and a dishonest one on the other. If the note goes into the hands of the dishonest person like Mallya, it turns black as if under a spell of magic,” the Congress vice president said, referring to the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines promoter Vijay Mallya.