NEW DELHI: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday tore into the BJP for calling her brother Rahul Gandhi a ‘traitor’ and casting aspersions on the Nehru-Gandhi family. Addressing a gathering at the ‘Sankalp Satyagraha’ outside Rajghat, she said BJP leaders have repeatedly insulted her family, whose members have sacrificed their lives for the country
The Congress organised similar satyagrahas on Sunday to protest from Parliament. In Delhi, the party wanted to hold the protest at the Rajghat but Delhi police declined permission. Following this, the leaders decided to sit outside the memorial.
“You call my brother, a martyr’s son, a traitor and your minister insulted my mother in Parliament. One of your chief ministers said Rahul Gandhi doesn’t even know who his father is. Your PM asks why this family does not keep the surname of Nehru… you have insulted the entire family,” she said, adding that leaders of the ruling dispensation get away with their words and deeds.
“You don’t get a sentence of two years, you are not thrown out of Parliament, you are not barred from contesting elections for eight years,” she said, adding the family has kept quiet till now but not any longer.
“My brother even hugged the PM and told him that he doesn’t harbour any hatred towards him. How much will you insult one man?” she asked.
Launching a broadside against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Priyanka said: “You can slap a case on me and put me in jail. But the truth is that the PM is a coward. He is hiding behind power.” Taking a dig at BJP leaders for portraying Rahul Gandhi as ‘Pappu’, Priyanka said the government is scared of him after lakhs of people joined his Bharat Jodo Yatra.
She added: “Our family members shed blood for this flag and the land. Those who think that they can threaten or put us in jail are wrong. We are not scared. We will continue to fight for the democratic values of the country,” she said.
Meanwhile, as a show of protest against Rahul’s disqualification, the Congress has asked its MPs to wear a black dress in Parliament on Monday.
