Cong fighting same battle against 'Modi empire' that Mahatma Gandhi fought against British: Priyanka

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday claimed that her party was now fighting the same battle against the ''Modi empire'' that Mahatma Gandhi once fought against the British imperialists.

Addressing back-to-back rallies in Bihar's Katihar and Bhagalpur districts, Vadra claimed that PM Narendra Modi was not maintaining the dignity of his post by using words such as 'katta' (country-made pistol).

She alleged that on the one hand, the PM was hailing 'Vande Mataram', which stood for non-violence, on the other, he was using words like 'katta'.

''Though they commemorated the 150th anniversary of the national song, at one point in time in history, the BJP and RSS were reluctant to sing Vande Mataram, which was a song of the Independence movement and signifies the nation's unity,'' she claimed.

Vadra also criticised the NDA government, alleging that it has failed to provide employment to the youth and is handing over all public sector undertakings to PM Modi's ''two corporate friends''.

She accused the NDA of keeping numerous government posts vacant and ''closing all avenues of employment''.

''The NDA leaders keep talking about the seven decades of Congress rule in India. They should know that the Congress governments of the past built institutes like IITs, IIMs and AIIMS,'' she said.

''The NDA thinks they will bribe women with Rs 10,000 and get votes,'' she added.

Vadra alleged that following the setback the BJP received in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it was resorting to ''vote chori''.

''Three people, Gyanesh Kumar, Vivek Joshi, and SS Sandhu, are complicit in this,'' she alleged, claiming that the NDA government, along with the election commissioners, has ''betrayed'' the people of Bihar.

The Congress MP claimed that Modi does not meet people, including those of his constituency, Varanasi, and ''only visits foreign lands''.

She claimed agriculture is no longer productive for farmers, with petrol, diesel and tractors facing high taxes.

''While loans of corporate houses are being waived off, poor people are spending their lifetimes repaying interest on the credits they took for educating their children or getting their children married,'' she said.

Vadra alleged that crime has increased threefold in the state under the NDA government, and most of those are being committed against backward classes.