Ambala/New Delhi/ Midnapore: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his comments against her father Rajiv Gandhi and said that “the same kind of arrogance caused the downfall of Duryodhan”. Likening the Prime Minister to the main villain of the epic Mahabharata, the Congress leader also warned that the country has never forgiven arrogance.
“They insult my family when they don’t get any other issue. This country has never forgiven arrogance. History is proof of this. Mahabharat is also proof of this. This kind of arrogance was in Duryodhan too. When Lord Krishna went to him and put the reality in front of him and tried to talk to him, he tried to capture Lord Krishna too,” said at a rally in Haryana’s Ambala where she was campaigning for the party candidate and former UPA minister Kumari Selja.
Prime Minister Modi had commented during an election speech that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s life had ended as “Bhrastachari (corrupt) Number 1”.
To reinforce her point, Ms Gandh recited lines from Krishna Ki Chetawani (The Warning of Krishna), a poem by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar: “Jab naash manuj par chaata hai, pehle vivek mar jata hai (When doom looms, first thing a human loses is the ability to discern right from wrong).”
Mrs Vadra said the BJP and its leaders do not highlight issues that are important and do not talk about what they have actually done in the last five years but seek votes in the name of martyrs or insult those from her family who sacrificed their lives.
“They never fulfil the promises they make at election time, instead they either seek votes in the name of martyrs or insult the martyr members of my family,” she said.
Ms Gandhi added that if the Prime Minister had the “courage”, he should fight Lok Sabha elections on development, jobs, farmers and women’s safety. On Monday, PM Modi had dared the Congress to fight the elections on Rajiv Gandhi’s image.
Reacting to Ms Gandhi’s comments, BJP president Amit Shah said May 23 will decide whether the PM is “Duryodhan or Arjun (the protagonist of Mahabharata).”
Hitting back, Mr Shah, who was addressing a rally in Midnapore, West Bengal, said, “Priyanka Gandhi has compared Modiji with Duryodhan. People of the country will decide who is Duryadhan and who is Arjun on May 23. Priyankaji, do not worry, people will tell you whether Modiji is Duryodan or Arjun.”
Mr Shah claimed that Opposition leaders, including from the Congress, have abused and insulted Mr Modi more than 51 times in the run-up to the 2019 elections.
“This election is about achievements of the BJP-led Central government. But to hide their failures, they try to divert the attention of people of country,” Ms Gandhi had said at the rally, and added that the people of the country are wise.
“You cannot mislead the people. The people of this country make every leader answerable and they will make you answerable as well,” she said.
Ms Gandhi said that the Prime Minister should face the people and tell them what he has done for them over the past five years and what he plans to do in the future.
“You are the PM, you are a big leader of the BJP, you should understand this. Otherwise the people will teach you a lesson,” she said.
Reacting to Opposition leaders’ comments against Mr Modi, Mr Shah said, “Congress leaders like Pawan Khera compared Modiji with Osama Bin Laden, Vijayashanthi termed him a terrorist, Mallikarjuna Kharge called him Hitler, while Sanjay Nirupam ridiculed him as a village dweller. Are these not insults to a Prime Minister?...If a former Prime Minister is insulted, the Congress leaders get shaken, but when the present Prime Minister is insulted they do not utter a word of protest.”
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