Rae Bareli: Making her maiden speech during the ongoing UP Assembly polls, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra today attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "adopted son" remark, asking if the state really needed any leader from outside when it has its own sons.
"PM Narendra Modi had earlier too said Varanasi has adopted me and I am like a son for it and will develop it...I felt, does UP need to adopt anyone from outside," she said to a cheering crowd here in the Lok Sabha constituency of her mother and Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
"Modiji, does the state need to adopt anyone from outside? Is there no youth here?...You have two such youth in Rahulji and Akhileshji before you who have UP in their hearts and mind," Priyanka told the gathering at the public meeting which was addressed by her following her brother and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.
In her brief but impassioned speech, she said, "No outside leader is required. Every single youth of the state can become a leader.... Every single youth here will work for UP and make the state progress by leaps and bounds. This is the wish of Rahulji and Akhileshji."
Making an appeal to the voters, she said, "Please ensure the alliance's victory."
The Samajwadi Party is expecting to cash in from Priyanka Gandhi’s election rally in Raebareli. SP believes that Priyanka’s presence is expected to make a lot of difference as far as the votes are concerned.
Priyanka Gandhi played a key role in sewing the seat-sharing alliance of the two parties, according to which the Samajwadi Party and the Congress have fielded 298 and 105 candidates in the state, respectively.
The next five phases of polling in UP will be held in will be held on February 19, 23, 27 and March 4 and 8. Counting of votes will be done on March 11.
