Prime Minister Narendra Modi came under fire on Thursday from Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who made an emotional speech in which she discussed bringing parts of her father’s body home and claimed former PM Rajiv Gandhi’s mother gave him “martyrdom” rather than wealth. The Congress general secretary also stated that Modi will not understand her family’s sacrifices. “Modi ji will not understand that my father did not inherit wealth, he inherited martyrdom from his mother,” she said, criticising the prime minister for his relentless attacks on the Congress over the party’s “wealth redistribution” promise in its manifesto.
Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi’s mother and former prime minister, was killed by her two Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984, at her Delhi home. With a voice choked with emotion, Priyanka said, “When Modiji utters nonsense about a woman like Indiraji, when Modiji, after seeing this feeling of patriotism, only sees dynastic politics, he cannot understand this sacrifice.” She was speaking at a Madhya Pradesh election rally in Morena.
#WATCH | Morena, Madhya Pradesh: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra says, “When I brought the pieces of my father, I was angry with this country. I sent my father to you safely, and you returned him in pieces. But gradually, I understood the meaning of martyrdom. I know what… pic.twitter.com/AM8y3AhOj0
— ANI (@ANI) May 2, 2024
During a rally in Morena last week, PM Modi had claimed that Rajiv Gandhi had removed the inheritance tax after he came to power in order to avoid paying taxes on the wealth he had inherited from his mother. He had previously stated that the government was legally entitled to half of a deceased person’s wealth.
“At the time, there was speculation that Indiraji had left her fortune to her son Rajiv Gandhi. To save money for the government (after her death), PM Rajiv Gandhi abolished the inheritance tax,” the prime minister stated. Congress had stoutly refuted Modi’s claim.
“But now I understand that this type of rage is directed at someone you care deeply about. How can I explain my love for this country when Modiji calls my father a traitor? When Modiji claims that my father changed the law to receive inheritance from his mother, Priyanka added. Priyanka also touched upon the barrage of attacks faced by the Gandhi family from BJP leaders.
“I want to say that whether you call us traitors, whether you kick us out of our homes, tie us up in legal cases… Do what you want. Kill us. Nobody can take away our sense of patriotism.” The Congress leader also recalled Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in 1991.
“I was 19 years old when I brought my father’s remains home, and I was angry with my country. I was angry because I had sent my father away, and it was your responsibility to keep him safe. You returned him to me in pieces.
“And these pieces were bundled in the national flag. I understand the meaning of martyrdom. “I am 52 years old today, and this is the first time I am speaking about it publicly,” Priyanka said. On May 21, 1991, a female suicide bomber killed Rajiv Gandhi during a poll rally in Sriperumbudur.
Priyanka also mentioned her meeting with the families of the victims of the Pulwama terror attack to emphasise the sense of sacrifice.
“Many of the Pulwama martyrs were from Uttar Pradesh. I visited their homes and met their families and children. The children also expressed a desire to join the army. One girl whose father was a pilot said she wants to join the air force and become a pilot.”
On February 14, 2019, a suicide bomber carried out a terrorist attack in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, killing 40 CRPF personnel. On other issues, Priyanka challenged Modi to build shelters for stray cattle in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
“PM Narendra Modi has said today, beware, if you have two buffaloes, the Congress will steal one of them,” she said, referring to Modi’s claim that the opposition party intended to reintroduce inheritance tax and seize people’s property.
“I throw a challenge to Modiji; collect stray cattle in UP and MP, and put them in ‘gaushala’ (cow shelters),” the leader of the opposition party said.
“Solve the problem of stray cattle. Build cowsheds, strengthen them, like the previous Congress government in Chhattisgarh did.” Gaushalas in Chhattisgarh provided income for women, and the government purchased cow dung from them, according to Priyanka.
The country’s unemployment rate was at a 45-year high, and government recruitment exams were hampered by paper leaks, while the Modi government was also closing available job opportunities, according to the Congress leader. She claimed that the Modi government waived loans totaling Rs 16 lakh crore to 20 to 22 businessmen.
“Under the Modi government, the poor have become poorer in the last ten years,” she said.