Do not fall for PM's speeches, vote for change: Priyanka Gandhi

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday asked people not to get carried away by the words used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speeches, and to vote for change in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Addressing a poll rally in Uttarakhand's Ramnagar, she said elections should be fought on real issues and not on the basis of empty rhetoric. "Don't get carried away by the words used by Modi ji in his election speeches. Before casting your vote, you should honestly ask yourself whether 10 years of the Modi government have really brought about a positive change in your lives," the Congress general-secretary said.

Ever-growing unemployment, uncontrolled inflation and paper-leak scams are the truths of people's lives, and the BJP-led government is responsible for these as it has been in power for the last 10 years, she said.

Gandhi also said people should ask Modi who is protecting the killers of Utarakhand resort receptionist Ankita Bhandari and the abusers of the Unnao rape victim in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

Accusing the Modi government of not honouring any of its promises, the Congress leader reminded people that commitments such as two crore jobs to youngsters and depositing Rs 15 lakh in the bank accounts of every citizen, remain unfulfilled.

She also accused the BJP of using religion in every election to gain votes. "Modi had described Himachal Pradesh also as devbhoomi (land of the gods) ahead of the Assembly polls in the state. The Congress won the election and when a disaster struck after a few months, the Modi government did not even give a penny as relief to the people of the state. All relief was given by the state government from its own resources," Gandhi said.

She claimed that the word devbhoomi is used by BJP leaders in election speeches for political reasons.

The Congress leader also said when the prime minister says "baar baar Modi sarkar (Modi government every time)", she feels like asking 'aur kitni baar Modi sarkar (how many more times)'?

"Sacrifice is the biggest value of the Hindu religion. True faith comes from sacrifices. I have known sacrifice. As a 19-year-old, I placed my father's body parts before my mother. We keep quiet when they insult our martyred father because there is true faith in our hearts," Gandhi said.

Her father, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, was assassinated in 1991. "For us, religion is not a subject for political experiment," the Congress leader said.

This was the first major rally of the Congress in Uttarakhand ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Gandhi also addressed another rally in Roorkee, which forms part of the Haridwar Lok Sabha constituency, later in the day.

The Lok Sabha polls are scheduled to be held in seven phases starting 19 April, and the counting of votes will be conducted on 4 June.