Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Wednesday slammed Rahul Gandhi’s “wealth redistribution promise”, stating that only someone with no practical knowledge can speak like that.

The 90-year-old JD(S) supremo ridiculed the Congress manifesto claiming that only a party that is sure of never coming to power can make as many promises.

“The Congress has promised so many things in its manifesto that only a party that is very sure of never coming to power will promise so much,” Gowda said at a press conference here.

He claimed the Congress wants to turn this country “upside down” and the promises made by it indicated that it wants to come to power “at any cost”. “Rahul Gandhi wants to do a wealth survey and redistribute the wealth. Does he think he is a maoist leader,” Deve Gowda said. “Is he dreaming of a revolution? By talking about wealth redistribution, Rahul Gandhi has insulted and humiliated two Congress Prime Ministers who brought market reforms and increased the wealth of the nation,” he added, recalling the contribution of P V Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh in economic liberalisation. Accusing Gandhi of indirectly trying to say that what the two Congress Prime Ministers did was wrong, Gowda said, “He (Rahul Gandhi) has torn up their economic reforms like he had torn up an ordinance (which sought to overturn the rule that disqualifies convicted MPs and MLAs) issued by (the then) Manmohan Singh (government).”

Picking up points from the Congress manifesto ‘Nyay Patra’, Gowda said, “Rahul Gandhi wants to give 30 lakh new central government jobs. I have run this country. There are only 40 lakh sanctioned jobs. How can he add 30 lakh more jobs overnight? How much will he pay these people? Where will he employ them?” He wondered whether Rahul Gandhi would make them lift operators in Government offices in four shifts.

“Only someone with no practical knowledge can speak like this. P Chidambaram was the manifesto committee chairman. Does he agree with Rahul Gandhi’s immature economic ideas,” Gowda said.