Morena. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referring to bringing home her father’s body pieces in an emotional speech, saying Rajiv Gandhi inherited ‘martyrdom’ and not property from his mother. The Congress general secretary also said that Modi would not understand the sacrifice of his family. Taking a dig at the Prime Minister over his continued attacks on Congress over the party’s manifesto promise of “wealth redistribution”, he said, ‘Modi ji will not understand that my father did not inherit property, he inherited martyrdom from his mother. .’
Rajiv Gandhi’s mother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards at her residence in Delhi on 31 October 1984. Addressing an election rally in Morena, Madhya Pradesh, Priyanka said in an emotional tone, ‘When Modiji talks nonsense about a woman like Indiraji, when Modiji sees only dynastic politics in this sense of patriotism, then he is making this sacrifice. Can’t understand.’
Modi had alleged at a rally in Morena last week that Rajiv Gandhi had abolished inheritance tax after coming to power so that he would not have to pay tax on the property he inherited from his mother. He had said that earlier half of the property of a deceased person used to go to the government by law. The Prime Minister had said, ‘There was talk then that Indiraji had bequeathed her property to her son Rajiv Gandhi. (After his death) to save money for the government, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi abolished inheritance tax.’
Congress had strongly denied Modi’s claim. Priyanka said, ‘But now I have understood that this kind of anger is for the person whom you love very much. How can I explain how much I love this country, when Modiji calls my father a traitor. When Modiji says that my father changed the law to get inheritance from his mother.
Priyanka also mentioned the attacks being made by BJP leaders on the Gandhi family. The Congress General Secretary said, ‘I want to say that whether you call us traitors, whether you throw us out of the house, whether you implicate us in legal cases… do whatever you want. Take our lives, but no one can remove the feeling of patriotism from our hearts.
He also remembered the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. He said, ‘And these pieces were wrapped in the national flag. I understand the meaning of martyrdom. Today I am 52 years old and this is the first time I am speaking about this from a public platform. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a female suicide bomber at an election rally in Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991.
Priyanka Gandhi also recalled her meeting with the family members of the Pulwama terror attack victims to highlight the feelings of sacrifice. He said, ‘Many martyrs of Pulwama were from Uttar Pradesh. I went to their homes and met their families and children. The children said that they also want to join the army. A girl whose father was a pilot said that she wanted to join the Air Force and become a pilot. Modi ji will not understand the spirit of this sacrifice.
On other issues, Priyanka Gandhi challenged Modi to create shelters for stray cattle in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Referring to Modi’s contention that the opposition party was planning to re-introduce inheritance tax and snatch away people’s property, he said, ‘Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said today, be careful if you have two buffaloes. , then Congress will steal one of them. I challenge Modiji; Collect stray cattle in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and keep them in Gaushala.
Priyanka Gandhi said, ‘Solve the problem of stray cattle. Build cow shelters and provide better facilities there as the previous Congress government did in Chhattisgarh. In Chhattisgarh, cow sheds provided income to women and the government also purchased cow dung from them.
Congress leader Gandhi claimed that the unemployment rate in the country is at the highest level in 45 years and government recruitment examinations are being affected by paper leaks, while the Modi government is also closing the avenues of available employment. He alleged that the Modi government has waived off loans worth Rs 16 lakh crore of 20 to 22 businessmen. Priyanka Gandhi claimed, ‘The poor have become poorer in the last ten years under the Modi government.’
Tags: madhya pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi
FIRST PUBLISHED: May 2, 2024, 23:57 IST