Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Aaam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal, saying while the former was a pracharak (campaigner), the latter was a dharnebaaz (innate protester).
Addressing an election rally at South East Delhi's Meethapur on Sunday, Ms. Gandhi said: “What is our opposition? One side of it is led by a pracharak who only keeps campaigning, the other side is that of the dharnebaaz who sat on protests even after becoming Chief Minister.”
Though she refrained from taking names, Ms. Gandhi blamed both the BJP and the AAP for ‘the woes of every Delhiite’ resulting from an alleged pact between both parties to keep the Congress out of power and the fruition of projects aimed at the holistic development of the Capital with it.
“Who is to blame for your problems, for the lack of development which you saw during Congress rule when Sheila Dikshit was the CM? Why did the dharnewali party leave you in the lurch?” Ms. Gandhi asked in a shrill, though determined tone, speaking in Hindi.
“The same people who formed a pact against the Congress to push it out of power, then theatrically shunned the CM seat leaving you to your woes and kept them piling even while they ruled your Delhi indirectly after the imposition of President's rule,” was the answer to her rhetorical question that came midway during her 15-minute-long address.
Implying that the BJP had sinister plans up its sleeves, Ms. Gandhi warned the people of Delhi against voting it to power even as she accused the Central government of stifling ‘important schemes’ brought to life by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), besides failing on promise of bringing back black money. “Where is the black money that was supposed to be transferred to your bank accounts? The Modi-led government trying to dilute the Right to Information (RTI) Act, that we gave to you as a tool against corruption, by keeping the post of Central Information Commissioner (CIC) empty? It is weakening the Food Security Act to limit the percentage of beneficiaries from around 70 to just 40 per cent of the population,” she alleged.
Ms. Gandhi also targeted the saffron party for the communal incidents witnessed in the Capital over the past few months. “Now you have to think; a party like the BJP has already given you [communal] clashes in Dilshad Garden, Trilokpuri while sitting at the Centre. Just think what it will do if you vote it to power in Delhi,” she said.
