Priyanka calls off her first press conference, expresses grief over CRPF deaths

Lucknow: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Thursday called off her first press conference after being inducted in the Congress as a Congress general secretary, expressing grief over the deaths of 40 CRPF personnel in a terror attack in Kashmir.

The press conference was meant to wrap up her four-day visit to the state, the first after being appointed in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. “This conference was called for political discussions. But when our jawans have been killed in a terror attack in Pulwama, I feel it would not be right if we have political discussions at this time," she told reporters at the press conference venue. “I want to tell their families that every single countryman is with them in their hour of grief,” she said. “They should have faith... we are standing by them,” she added.

A two-minute silence was also observed as a mark of grief. The Congress leader has held a series of discussions with party workers over the past four days, with at least one session lasting through the night. The Congress is trying to revive itself in the state where it faces a challenge from the Bharatiya Janata Party as well as an alliance of Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party. Although the new AICC general secretary has faced the press briefly in recent days, this was slated to be her first formal interaction.