Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress general secretary in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, came down heavily on the BJP-led central government and said if it is nationalist, it should stop disrespecting the freedom fighters who laid the foundation of this country.
"Government says it is nationalist. I want to ask the government if it is nationalist then it should respect the fallen soldiers, whether they are Hindus or Muslims. If it is nationalist, it should stop disrespecting the freedom fighters who have laid the foundation of this country," Priyanka said while sharing the stage with Congress president Rahul Gandhi and general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia at a public rally here.
She added, "If it is nationalist, it should stop talking about Pakistan in the election rallies. Instead, it should tell the youth, women and farmers of India as to what it is going to do about them."
She mentioned in her speech about farmers from different parts of the country marching to Delhi and slammed the government for not heeding to their demands.
"If it is nationalist, why didn't the government meet and listened to the farmers who came barefoot from different parts of India? If it is nationalist, then when people were killed in the name of religion why didn't it share the grief of the victims, instead of honouring the victims' murderers? If it is nationalist, why is it afraid of people raising their voice?" Priyanka said while directing her attack on the BJP which is leading the NDA government at the Centre.
"It feels as if this government is neither proud of democracy nor our institutes nor people of the country. If it is a real nationalist then it would have been on the path of truth. But, it drifted away from it long ago", she added.
Priyanka, who attacked BJP by accusing it of running fake campaigns, said, "I have realised the truth of this so-called development which is being heavily advertised by the government. People know the farce of these advertisements. But whenever people raise questions, they are called anti-national."
She also had a slip of the tongue while mentioning about the announcements made in the party's manifesto but quickly rectified it. "We have many schemes in the manifesto through which you will get health free in government hospital...I mean not health but the health diagnosis and treatment will be free..." she said.
Later addressing the same rally, Congress president Rahul Gandhi also raised questions over publicity campaigns being carried by the government and asked about the source of money for the campaigns.
Lok Sabha elections, which began on April 11, will conclude on May 19. The polls in Uttar Pradesh are staggered in all seven phases. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
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