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, Bhagalpur, and Purnea districts, Vadra claimed PM Narendra Modi was not maintaining the dignity of his post by using words such as 'katta' (country-made pistol) and 'donali' (double-barrel gun) during the election campaign in the state.

''The battle that the INDIA bloc and Congress are fighting today is the same battle that Mahatma Gandhi once fought against the British imperialists. Even today, we are fighting for your rights and the truth. Even today, we are fighting against an empire, which is the Modi empire,'' she claimed.

''Today, PM Modi runs the government in the same way. He suppresses people and divides them. The rights for which Mahatma Gandhi fought are in danger today. The most important among those rights is the right to vote,'' she added.

Vadra 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' and 'donali' at public rallies.

''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.

The Wayanad MP claimed that the ''BJP's nationalism is fake'' as they only talk about it when elections approach.

''Their Agnipath scheme has demotivated the youth of Bihar who once prepared for being recruited in the army with a lot of rigour and nationalistic fervour,'' she claimed.

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

''We want to reserve 2,000 acres of land for industries and the education sector in Bihar, unlike the NDA government that has given large tracts of land to Adani at Re 1,'' she said.

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

''A decade has passed since PM Modi promised 2 crore jobs to Indian youth, and recently, he said he will give 1 crore jobs to the people of Bihar. Why did he not give these jobs in the last decade,'' she asked.

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

Vadra alleged that, on the contrary, PM Modi has devised a new type of politics based on religion, wherein politicians don't have to work.

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

The Congress general secretary alleged that following the setback the BJP received in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the ruling party resorted 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 by deleting names of 65 lakh voters from the electoral rolls.

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

She also 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 interests on the loans they took for educating their children or getting them married,'' she said.

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