Choose sons of soil: Priyanka Gandhi urges voters of Uttar Pradesh

RAE BARELI: Priyanka Gandhi, the daughter of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making “shallow promises,” in her first election campaign this season in Rae Bareli on Friday, and asked the people of Uttar Pradesh to elect ‘one of their own’ as the next chief minister.

“The PM says he is an adopted son of the state but does UP need one? Both Akhilesh and Rahul are sons of the soil,” she told voters at an election rally in her short speech. Campaigning for the Congress candidates in the family pocket borough she said, “we could have easily selected powerful people from other parties who sought tickets but we chose people who will work for you.”

The Congress has credited Priyanka Gandhi for saving the alliance with the Samajwadi Party after it was on the verge of a collapse. Congress leaders said that she was likely to restrict her campaign to the assembly segments of Rae Bareli and Amethi Lok Sabha constituencies, represented by her mother Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, respectively. The Congress president is scheduled to address a rally in Rae Bareli on Monday.

In his speech, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said that Modi had failed to keep his promises. “Imagine going to watch a movie. You are shown DDLJ. After two-and-a-half years, turns out it is Gabbar Singh in Sholay,” he said. “Modiji...relationships are not just about talk but action. I have a long list of what he promised his ‘mother’: Clean Ganga, Ghats, Ring Road, free WiFi, Bhojpuri Film City,” Rahul Gandhi said.

He criticised the central government over the recall of high denomination currency. He said that in UP and Bihar, the PM had promised to help farmers by waiving loans and promising a special package. “Why does he need the state government to do that? He can easily call a cabinet meeting and get it done in minutes.”