Lok Sabha elections 2019| ‘Modi a chowkidar for the rich’: Priyanka Gandhi
The Congress leader also attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government on its “failure” to fulfill its poll promises and provide Rs 15 lakh to the poor, adding that the BJP had made “tall claims”.
At her first public rally in Ayodhya as Congress general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused the PM of being a “chowkidar” (watchman) of the rich, and not the poor.
The Congress leader, who was appointed the party incharge of Uttar Pradesh east in January, said that she was surprised to find out that PM Modi did not meet villagers in his own constituency Varanasi. “The Prime Minister visited America, Japan and China, and hugged everyone there. He visited the whole world and hugged everyone, but he did not hug his own people,” she said at the rally in Naya Kuan area.
“I asked the people if the Prime Minister visits villages in Varanasi, I got a reply that ‘he does not visit’. I was surprised because his popularity through publicity is such that I thought he must have been doing something for the people in the constituency,” she added.
Claiming that BJP leaders did not visit villages in India for fear of “facing the truth”, Gandhi said, “In a democracy, you need to listen to the people. But, they (BJP) do not want to listen to your voice. They are scared that they will have to face the truth... The government wants to curb your voice.”
She alleged that the PM Modi-led government was “anti-farmer and anti-people” and it had waived loans of industrialists while farmers were “drowning in debt”.
The Congress leader also attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government on its “failure” to fulfill its poll promises and provide Rs 15 lakh to the poor, adding that the BJP had made “tall claims”.
Speaking about the Congress’s minimum income guarantee scheme, Gandhi said, “No poor family would get less than Rs 72,000 (every year).” Continuing her tirade, Gandhi alleged that the democratic structure of the country has been under attack for the last five years. “Think who you voted for (in 2014), think, will you trust them again,” Gandhi said at the rally.
This was Gandhi’s first public rally in Ayodhya after being appointed the party general secretary of UP East, a politically significant region of the state that includes constituencies of PM Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
Ayodhya has been central to BJP’s politics on account of its campaign for Ram temple. The city is part of the Faizabad parliamentary constituency, which is presently held by the BJP.
Uttar Pradesh will go to polls in seven phases, from April 11 to May 19. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.
