Congress president Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attend a women workers’ meeting in Amethi Saturday. (PTI)CONGRESS GENERAL secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Saturday told a gathering in Amethi that the BJP was naive to think they can “buy” the pradhans in Amethi for Rs 20,000.
“We are sending our manifesto to people and what is the BJP doing? They are sending Rs 20,000… And thinking that Amethi’s pradhans can sell out. They think the love that has been there for generations… They think they can buy that love for Rs 20,000,” Priyanka said.
She also indirectly targeted Union minister and BJP candidate Smriti Irani and alleged that she indulges in “drama” when she claims that she visits the constituency more than MP Rahul Gandhi. “Narazgi main samajhti hoon, kyunki jaise aapke shetra mein kar rahe hai naatak, ki yahaan 16 baar aayi hai woh, har baar aayi hai woh, har baar four ghanton mein chali jaati hai. Aapke saansad usse dugni baar aaye hai… woh chaar ghanton ke liye nahi aate. Aate hai, aapse mil kar jaate hai… yeh kya karti hai, media ko bula leti desh bhar ki, aur kya kiya unhone ek baar karyakram mein joothon ka vitran kiya. Ya toh yeh aapka apmaan karna chah rahi hai… Ki Amethi ki janta ke paas joothe nahi (I understand the anger. Because they are doing drama in your area. That she came here 16 times. Every time she came here, she left in four hours. Your MP has come here more. He does not leave in four hours. He listens to you and then goes. What she does is that she calls the media from the entire country. And once she distributed shoes. She tried to show disrespect to you… that the people of Amethi don’t have shoes,” Priyanka told the gathering.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi Saturday, at another public meeting in Amethi, spoke about the Congress’s NYAY scheme and said, “I spoke to an economist and told him the aim is to give money to the poor. I asked him to tell me how much money can the Indian government give to the poorest people. He told me we can give Rs 72,000 to 5 crore women per year… Whoever has an income of less than Rs 12,000 per month will get Rs 6,000 per month.”
When contacted, BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said, “Priyanka Gandhi’s husband is under the ED and CBI’s lens and it does not suit her to be making such allegations against the BJP. The Gandhi family has always won the Amethi seat by use of money power. This time, even that isn’t working and hence they are levelling baseless allegations against the BJP.”
