NEW DELHI, Mar 17: Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi today launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying his Government was “power-drunk” and the pre-poll promises of combating corruption and ensuring inclusive development were mere “dramebaazi”.
In her address at the 84th Congress Plenary Session, she accused the Modi Government of using “all tricks in the trade” to wipe out the Congress and asserted that the party would never bow down.
She exhorted Congress workers to support new party chief Rahul Gandhi and be ready for any kind of sacrifice to strengthen the organisation.
Sonia Gandhi also asked the workers to free the country of “discrimination, vendetta politics and arrogance”.
“We are exposing Prime Minister Modi and his colleagues’ false claims, frauds and corruption with proof.
“People have now understood that the 2014 promises of ‘sab ka saath, sab ka vikas’ and ‘na khaoonga, na khaane doonga’ and his ‘Mann ki Baat’ on radio are only ‘dramebaazi’ (theatrics) and a trick to grab votes and electoral power,” she said, referring to Modi’s promises of inclusive development and corruption-free governance.
She claimed that the Congress was fighting a “tyrannical” Government and the people have begun to realise that the promises made by the BJP in 2014 were hollow
“In the last four years, this arrogant and power-drunk Government has left no stone unturned to destroy the Congress. They have used every trick in the trade, but Congress has neither succumbed before this arrogance of power nor will it succumb in future,” she said.
The UPA chairperson said the party is waging a struggle against the Modi Government’s “dictatorial” ways, “disregard” for the Constitution, “denigration” of Parliament and their “divisive ideology”, besides “political vendatta and conspiracies like intimidating the media”.
She recalled how the Congress had changed its plan of going alone as per the ‘Panchmarhi Declaration’ in 1998 to aligning with like-minded parties at the Shimla Declaration in 2003 and then successfully formed Governments in various states and at the Centre in 2004 and 2009.
Sonia Gandhi said the Governments under Manmohan Singh formulated many schemes for the welfare of the people and the economy grew fastest during that time.
“Under the leadership of former PM Manmohan Singh, the economy of this country flourished. Our Government formed policies which lifted millions of people from poverty. And today, the Modi Government is weakening these policies,” she said.
Meanwhile, the country is in a way “fatigued” under the Narendra Modi dispensation and is looking for a way out, Congress president Rahul Gandhi today said and asserted that his party alone can show the path forward.
In his brief inaugural address at the 84th Congress Plenary Session, he launched a scathing attack on the NDA Government, accusing it of spreading hatred and anger, and failing to create jobs and address farm distress.
The Congress party alone can unite the country and show it the path forward, he said, adding that the difference between the ruling dispensation and his party was that while they spread anger and hatred, “we spread love and brotherhood”.
He also said the Congress party under him would take the seniors and the youth together as the tradition of the party was to embrace change without forgetting its past and legacy.
“If the youth will take the Congress party forward, the party will not move forward without the experienced leaders. So, my task is to unite the seniors and the youth, to give a new direction,” he said.
Representatives of the party have fought hard to keep the Congress ideology alive, he said, adding that the senior leaders of the party would guide the youth and take the party forward.
Taking a jibe at the present dispensation, Gandhi said that crores of youths in the country, looking up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are not finding anything and did not know where will the jobs come from and farmers do not know when they will get fair price of their produce.
“So the country is in a way fatigued, is looking for a way out. And I am saying this from the bottom of my heart that only the Congress can show the path forward. (PTI)
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