Scores of Congress workers today took out a padyatra in Varanasi and attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also represents the temple town in Lok Sabha, over rising prices of pulses in the country.
The padyatra began at Nadesar and culminated at the Town Hall in Maidagin. Addressing the party workers at the Cutting Memorial Ground in Nadesar before the padyatra, senior Congress leader Madhusudan Mistry appealed to the people of Uttar Pradesh to make the party victorious in the 2017 assembly elections.
He said the people of the state have experienced the "misrule" of Samajwadi Party and now the time has come to bring the Congress to power.
He also said that the people have lost faith in the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
Mistry also condemned the slapping of NSA on Congress MLA Ajay Rai, who is currently lodged in Fathegarh jail, in connection with violence in Varanasi.
State Congress president Nirmal Khatri, addressing the gathering, took a jibe at Prime Minister Modi, saying when Modi had fought the election in 2014 from this temple town people were raising the slogan 'Har Har Modi' but now people are saying 'Arhar Modi' due to rising price of arhar dal.
Khatri said the Prime Minister went to Pakistan without even getting any invitation from the latter and that this has exposed the doublespeak and double-standard of Modi and BJP.
The padyatra was attended by several senior Congress leaders including Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Pradeep Mathur, Pramod Tiwari, Naseeb Pathan, Annu Tandon and Nadeem Javed.
