RAE BARELI, May 20 -- Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said India was heading towards an "economic storm" and blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the situation. "India is on the brink of an unprecedented economic storm, one never seen before, and it could hit within months. When it comes, Ambani and Adani will retreat into their palaces under heavy security, but it is the youth, farmers and small traders who will suffer the consequences," Gandhi said while addressing a 'Jan Samvad' programme at Saraswati Inter College in the Kheiro area of Rae Bareli on the first day of his two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency. "I have been telling Modi for years that what his government has done in the last 10-12 years will not hurt Ambani and Adani. The Prime Minister must act now to protect farmers, youth and small traders. I have been repeating this continuously and I am saying it again today," he said. "The Prime Minister has nothing to do with all this crisis, as he is asking people to buy EVs when they do not have money. Ye na jane kaun si duniya mein reh raha hai (I don't know which world he is living in)," he added. Attacking the central government, Gandhi said, "In the next few days, the case of Adani in the USA will be expunged by Trump, as Modi has sold off India to him. You will get costlier gas, power and petrol." Referring to tensions involving Iran and the US and the Strait of Hormuz, Gandhi said fuel prices had already started rising. "Twenty per cent of the oil supply route has been disrupted and it affects everything that reaches people's homes. Narendra Modi said don't buy gold and don't go abroad but he himself went abroad immediately after saying this," the senior Congress leader said. Calling the Strait of Hormuz the world's most important maritime oil chokepoint, Gandhi alleged that the financial modifications made by the Prime Minister would inevitably "collapse", with the common citizen bearing the heaviest burden. "The current economic architecture has been systematically rigged to benefit a chosen few billionaires at the expense of the working class," he alleged. "I have been saying that Modi has altered the economic structure, and an economic storm is coming now. The structure he has erected in favour of Adani and Ambani will not endure. It is destined to collapse completely," the senior Congress leader said, adding, "The economic shock was poised to strike with a severity perhaps unseen in many years. A very difficult period lies ahead." He also attacked the Centre over demonetisation and changes to MGNREGA. "The youth now understand that demonetisation destroyed small traders and changes in MGNREGA reduced the income of labourers," he said. "To please the US, Modi has sold off our data, agriculture industry, energy security and to save himself from Epstein files, he has sold off India to Trump," he alleged, adding, "If you say this in front of a BJP worker, they will remain quiet." "All big leaders went to the marriage function at Ambani's house but Rahul Gandhi did not. I want to come to marriage functions at your place," the LoP said after inaugurating a 'Baraat Ghar' in Bachrawan. Earlier in the day, Gandhi reached the airport in Lucknow and was welcomed by senior leaders, including Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra, UP Congress president Ajay Rai, Amethi MP KL Sharma, state Congress in-charge Avinash Pandey, deputy leader of the opposition Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari, Barabanki MP Tanuj Punia, and party's spokesperson Anshu Awasthy. In Rae Bareli, Gandhi also held an interaction (Mahila Samwad) with the women's group at Mangalam Guest House in Lalganj. The final event of the day was in Ward No. 14 near Mohalla Pehalwan Veer Baba Nagar in Rae Bareli for the inauguration of a newly constructed road. Gandhi will stay overnight at the MP Residence in Bhuemau. On Wednesday, he will meet members of the public, local representatives, and delegations at the MP Residence in Munshiganj at 9 am and visit Lodhwari village in Block Rahi to pay tribute at the statue of Amar Shaheed Veera Pasi and participate in the Bahujan Swabhiman Sabha, said Pramod Tiwari. Earlier, Gandhi had visited Uttar Pradesh on March 13 on the occasion of Jyotiba Phule's birth anniversary as part of the Congress party's Dalit outreach campaign. It was his first public programme in Lucknow after nearly four years....