Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday lambasted the Opposition BJP for indulging in divisive politics, distorting history and misleading the people of the country. In an emotional speech at a rally at Shastri Park in North-East Delhi on Sunday, the Congress president dismissed the BJP and Narendra Modi’s criticism of the Congress leaders.
Reminding the people about the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia, accompanied by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, asked people to bring back the Congress in Delhi for the fourth-term for inclusive politics. “You have seen what they have done for you, what we have,” said the Congress chief.
“The Opposition has always done the same trick since Independence: resorting to baseless allegations. Did they spare Mahatma GandhiIJ Did they spare Jawaharlal NehruIJ Did they spare Indira Gandhi, who worked relentlessly for the poor, the minoritiesIJ It was this sentiment for the country due to which Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed their lives. They would not spare us, our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, when they did not spare those who built our nation,” she said in her 12-minute speech in chaste Hindi laced with sarcasm.
Slamming Narendra Modi, Sonia accused him of “closing eyes and resorting to lies” to negate the development carried out during the 15 years of her party’s rule in Delhi. The Congress president said that Delhi is a historical city and one can also feel the future of the country in this Capital.
lauding Sheila Dikshit’s tenure, Sonia projected the State as a model of development, slamming the Opposition for “knowingly ignoring” the development carried out in Delhi. She, however, did name either Modi or BJP, which she referred to as “our main Opposition party”. She cautioned the people against those who were trying to “mislead” them in their “sole pursuit of power”.
She raised questions about the ideology of the main Opposition party. The Opposition may grab power by misleading but will not be able to win the hearts of people in the lack of a sense of service, commitment and compassion, she said. Sonia said, “By misleading the people, by creating confusion among them, you can capture the chair but cannot win their hearts.”
While highlighting that Delhi has welcomed people from all castes, creeds and regions, the Congress president sought to caution the people against those who were trying to “spew venom through their narrow ideology”.
Shastri Park was packed to its capacity of about 8000-10,000 people. leaders kept updating the crowd on when Sonia would speak. This was in sharp contrast to Rahul Gandhi’s rally last weekend where Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had to urge the crowd to not leave the ground before he spoke. Worried over poor response in the Rahul Gandhi rally, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Congress leadership had assigned Arvinder Singh lovely and Mateen Ahmed to ensure crowd for the rally.