Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday targeted the Narendra Modi Government saying it had shown “false dreams” in the run-up to the lok Sabha polls and now people feel they are “trapped”. lamenting that the party lost in the polls despite doing “so much”, Sonia asserted that her party will stage a comeback, though the path may be difficult and a longer one.
She alleged that the new dispensation at the Centre has been copying the schemes and programmes of the UPA Government and taking credit for the same. “We had done so much. Still some people laid a trap and people got caught in it. Our work, our achievements got ignored and those showing false dreams marched ahead. Those who have come in Government today are showing an altogether different picture to the nation in accordance with their habit. They are implementing as their own, schemes and plans which were launched by Congress,” Sonia said addressing a large number of party workers where majority were women.
At the same time, the Congress chief expressed confidence about staging a comeback. “May be the path of our struggle is a bit longer and we may have to work a little more. But if all of us work hard and do it together, the day is not far when Congress will regain its peak.”
Addressing the convention of ‘Mahila Congress’ on the occasion of 70th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia along with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi sought to reach out to women by promising a larger electoral role for them at all levels and making a strong pitch for reservation for them in Parliament and state Assemblies.
Rahul asked women to join the party in large numbers to strengthen it in the “battle of ideologies” after the formation of NDA government at Centre. While Sonia talked the measures initiated for empowering women by Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul promised “Tsunami” of measures to empower women within organisation as it urged them to join the party in large numbers in the “ideological battle” ahead.
Taking yet another jibe at Modi, senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar said Modi would be forced to retreat to Ganghinagar and then could be driven “to the seashore” if the party managed to align with elected women representatives. “If you bring such women who are active in public life into Congress, Modiji will have to go to Gandhinagar by tomorrow and then we will drive him to the seashore,” Aiyar told workers of Mahila Congress. This is not the first time that Aiyar has targeted Modi and his ‘chaiwalla’ barb earlier at the BJP leader had drawn sharp reactions.
Hitting back at Congress President over her “false dream” remarks, BJP said Congress has “befooled” the country by showing “unfulfilled dreams” which now appear as “nightmares” to the people. “Sonia is attacking BJP but forgetting that it is the same Congress which has shown dreams to the people of the country that have remained unfulfilled and befooled them. The dreams shown by Congress now appear as nightmares to the people of India,” said BJP Spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain.