Modi strikes deals for industrialist friends, his party hankers for power: Priyanka in Rajasthan

Flaying both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party for being pro-rich at an election rally in Rajasthan, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the policies of the BJP-led government at the centre are meant to benefit the rich and not the poor.

Addressing a Congress rally on Sunday (September 10) at Niwai in Tonk district in poll-bound Rajasthan, Priyanka Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi goes on foreign trips and strikes deals for his “industrialist friends”. “Modi comes back from abroad and says our (India’s) respect has gone up. Later, we get to know that he made deals for his industrialist friends,” she said.

For everything, Modi keeps the interests of his industrialist friends above that of the public, she said.

The Congress general secretary alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) only focus is to remain in power, whereas the poor and middle class are being neglected.

Referring to “water-logging” at the venue of the G20 Summit in Delhi, she took a swipe at the prime minister and said, “Perhaps, God has said what the people of our country are not able to say out of fear – reduce your ego, this country has made you a leader, put the country first, make the people supreme.”

The assembly polls in Rajasthan are due later this year.

The Congress leader said politicians should have the same kind of respect for people that people display when they go to temples. “It is important for the public and the leaders to understand this. When people assume power, their ambitions get ahead of them,” she said.

Gandhi said the BJP leaders have become so arrogant that they have forgotten these things.

Why Rajasthan had to organise inflation relief camps?

She alleged that when houses were damaged due to rain in Himachal Pradesh, the price of cement, needed to re-construct the structures, was increased by the Adani Group and the rates of apples were decreased when farmers went to sell those. She alleged that this happened at the behest of the prime minister.

“The prime minister, who used to call himself a 'bhumiputra', is moving in a convoy worth crores,” Priyanka Gandhi said.

She said the oil companies have made huge profits, but the prices of fuel are still very high and inflation is skyrocketing. When people were struggling with inflation, the Rajasthan government organised relief camps, the Congress leader said.

“Why has this situation arisen in the country that the state government had to organise inflation relief camps? Why is fuel so expensive when the companies are earning profits? You will have to raise these questions,” she said.

Gandhi also hit out at the Modi government over the Agniveer scheme for recruitment into the armed forces. “The BJP government has taken away your rights in eight years. Pensions have been cut, the chances of Army recruitment have disappeared. He (Modi) has brought the Agniveer scheme and is moving in big convoys himself,” she said.

Questioning Mod’s silence on ERCP

Gandhi said when big expenses are made, people have to bear the brunt. “When they spend big, who suffers the loss? The money that should be spent on your welfare does not come,” she said.

Gandhi highlighted the schemes and programmes of the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan and said people should choose a government that works for them and not those who seek votes in the name of castes and religions.

She also wondered why the prime minister is silent on the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) and said it would have brought prosperity to the region.

Chief Minister Gehlot cornered the BJP for raising fingers at the Gandhi family and said nobody from the family has been the prime minister or a minister in the 30 years and that they have given everything for the sake of the nation.

Referring to the assassination of former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, he said they have made supreme sacrifices for the country. Gehlot also said the kind of atmosphere that prevails in the country today is dangerous. “Democracy is in danger and the Constitution has been shattered,” he added.

Institutions including judiciary under pressure

The chief minister said people are concerned as the judiciary is under pressure and agencies, such as the Income-Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), are being misused.

He said the Rajasthan government has received acclaim from across the country for its work. “Rajasthan is leading in education, health and other parameters. We are in the second place in terms of financial growth rate after Andhra Pradesh. Our GDP has reached Rs 6 lakh crore in the last four years, which will touch Rs 15 lakh crore by the end of this financial year. Our target is that the GDP should increase to Rs 30 lakh crore by 2030,” Gehlot said.

He said the prime minister had made a false promise to Rajasthan of giving a national status to the ERCP.

Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot asked people to assess for themselves which leader or ideology is working in the interest of the state. “After three months, there will be elections in Rajasthan and other states. All of us have to see which leader or ideology is working in the interest of the state and who are those people who work only to garner votes,” he said.

Pilot said irrespective of how such forces try to mislead people, they will take the right decision and vote for the Congress in Rajasthan as well as in other states.

Congress will have a repeat government in Rajasthan

He urged Priyanka Gandhi to visit Rajasthan frequently as the people of the state like her. He said wherever Priyanka Gandhi has campaigned, be it Himachal Pradesh or Karnataka, the Congress has formed the government.

Congress in-charge for Rajasthan Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said the leaders of the party are not afraid of the ED, CBI or IT Department. “I am confident that the Congress will repeat its government in Rajasthan and in 2024, it will rule the country,” he said.

State Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra said the Rajasthan government has worked for all sections of the society.

On the occasion, the Indira Gandhi Rasoi (Rural) scheme was also launched in the state.

(With agency inputs)