Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi government at the Centre accusing it of “hoodwinking” people and undermining all institutions.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that the present government was being run by four or five people who think that they could do anything they want. “A few people are taking all the decisions and they think they can hoodwink the people. They think the public doesn’t know anything,” she said while addressing a public gathering at Sirsa in Uttar Pradesh.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra began her party’s campaign for the Lok Sabha election 2019 with a ‘Ganga Abhishek’ and prayers at a temple in Prayagraj on Monday morning.
Priyanka Gandhi arrived in Prayagraj on Sunday night and stayed at family’s home Swaraj Bhawan, where her grandmother Indira Gandhi was born.
She had earlier posted a photo of the room at Swaraj Bhawan, the 19th-century mansion built by her great-great-grandfather, Motilal Nehru. “I can see the room where my grandmother was born as I sit in the courtyard of Swaraj Bhawan, My grandmother used to tell me the story of Joan of Arc while putting me to sleep at night. Her voice echoes in my heart even today. She used to say, ‘Be fearless and everything will be good’,” Priyanka Gandhi wrote in Hindi.
She left Swaraj Bhawan for Sangam at around 9.30am as enthusiastic Congress workers and supporters carrying placards in her support waved at her on the way.
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She stopped to perform an ‘arti’ at the Bade Hanuman temple, where the president of Akhil Bhartiya Akhada Parishad Mahant Narendra Giri led her in the prayers.
The 47-year-old leader also paid obeisance at the Akshay Vat, the eternal Banyan tree, and Saraswati Koop, the well under which the mythical Saraswati River is said to be flowing inside Akbar’s fort on the banks of the Sangam.
She offered the prayers before embarking on her three-day 140-km ‘Ganga Yatra’ from Prayagraj Varanasi at Mannaiya ghat on a steamer.
Watch | Priyanka Gandhi begins her Ganga Yatra, offers prayers in Prayagraj
A large number of Congress workers, including women, had been waiting for her since early morning singing bhajans and patriotic songs. They also shouted slogans like ‘Priyanka nahi yeh andhi hain, Doosri Indira Gandhi hain’ (She is not just Priyanka but a storm, she is the second Indira Gandhi) and ‘UP mein badlav ki andhi, Priyanka Gandhi Priyanka Gandhi’ (Storm of change in UP, Priyanka Gandhi Priyanka Gandhi’).
Before her arrival, senior Congress leaders including chief of Congress’ state unit Raj Babbar, national spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh and the ‘Ganga Yatra’ coordinator and party MLA from Rampur Khas Aradhana Mishra were also present.
Also read| Priyanka Gandhi starts Ganga Yatra with prayers and boat ride
Raj Babbar said Priyanka Gandhi had come to the Sangam to seek the blessings of ‘Ganga Maiyya’ (Mother Ganga) and drive home the point that like the holy river, Congress wanted to embrace all.
Congress spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh said people have already made up their mind for a change.
“The promises made by the BJP before coming to power have been forgotten by it. They no longer even talk about it. Just two days ago, the government has itself accepted that not even 20% of the Ganga could be cleaned. People are now questioning the BJP on its promises of wiping out unemployment and black money, bringing Dawood Ibrahim to justice, and ten heads for every Indian head claimed by the enemy,” Akhilesh Pratap Singh said.
At the Sangam, Priyanka performed ‘Ganga Abhishek’ and arti and crossed the Ganga on a steamer to reach Arail and the Ganga Ghat at Mannaiya, around 30 km away in Karchana tehsil of trans-Yamuna area of Prayagraj, in a car.
She then boarded a steamer and formally began her ‘Ganga Yatra’, which will witness her making stopovers at villages located near the river’s banks. She will meet people in these villages including students, weavers, boatmen, fishermen and farmers to better understand their hardships, aspirations and expectations.
The Congress leader will reach Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary seat of Varanasi on Wednesday. She will visit the residence of former prime minister late Lal Bahadur Shastri in Ramnagar area and offer prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple. She will also take part in a Holi Milan programme and meet Congress workers at the party’s district office before getting back to New Delhi.
Also read| ‘Will reach out on boat, bus, train’: Priyanka’s letter ahead of Ganga yatra
First Published:
Mar 18, 2019 14:29 IST
Source: HindustanTimes