Congress national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday (May 28, 2024) criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not visiting Himachal Pradesh even once during the unprecedented rain disaster in 2023.
Addressing a party rally in Gagret Assembly constituency of Una district in Himachal Pradesh, Priyanka alleged that as the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress regime was recovering from the rain disaster, the BJP leadership tried to topple a democratically elected government in the state.
She emphasised that the Congress worked for the people, and not for money and power, and that not a single rupee came from the Centre to the state for disaster relief. “PM Modi did not declare the disaster a national disaster despite repeated requests and the entire relief was provided to the people by the state government,” she said.
Priyanka accused PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of attempting to topple the state government through money power, “hiding MLAs in BJP-ruled state like thieves”. She called this an attempt to commit the biggest crime against democracy in front of the public. “However, the determination of Congress leaders kept the government united. Those who left did so because of money power. The BJP’s only religion is power and property,” she said.
The Congress leader said that the Modi government had misled the people for 10 years, leading to massive unemployment. “Today, 70 crore people are unemployed, with educated youth unable to find jobs. Democracy has been damaged during Modi’s tenure, with governments being toppled through money power and public trust betrayed at every level. In contrast, Congress governments are trying to provide relief to the people,” she said.
Priyanka criticised BJP leaders for resorting to religious rhetoric during elections and stated that nothing will change until civilized politics is established. She vowed to protect the country’s democracy and Constitution, criticised the reduction of taxes on imported apples while imposing GST on domestic apples, and affirmed Congress’s commitment to strengthening farmers.
