Priyanka Gandhi won’t campaign in Varanasi
AMETHI: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, whose feisty comments against Narendra Modi have planted her on the political centre-stage this week, has said she won’t campaign in Varanasi, where the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate is running for Parliament. “I will stay here only,” she told NDTV in Amethi while responding to questions about media reports that said she would go to the constituency to campaign ahead of the May 12 voting.
Though Priyanka is not contesting the election, she has targeted Mr Modi repeatedly while campaigning in Uttar Pradesh for her mother Sonia, the Congress president, and brother Rahul.Varanasi is one of the two constituencies where Mr Modi is contesting. The other is Vadodara. The 63-year-old has commissioned a high-octane campaign as he seeks a promotion from the chief minister of Gujarat to the country’s top job.
The BJP and he have pitched his economic development of Gujarat as his main qualification over a hardline right-wing agenda. Countering that, Priyanka yesterday echoed her brother who has, in rallies, accused Mr Modi of allowing Gujarat to be hijacked by crony capitalism. “The people understand your Gujarat model in which thousands of acres of land was given to your friends at throwaway prices,” she said.
Mr Modi has also accused the Gandhis of deep-rooted corruption, daring them to offer an explanation for what he describes as Priyanka’s husband Robert Vadra’s phenomenally good fortune in his business interests.
At a rally recently, he said in contrast to his Gujarat model, the Congress is faithful to “an RSVP model – Rahul, Sonia, Vadra and Priyanka.”
Priyanka retaliated yesterday, “ABCD, RSVP….this is what some parties say. They aren’t addressing a primary school.”
Earlier this week, she took a swipe at Mr Modi over “Snoopgate”, or the alleged spying on a woman on the orders of the Gujarat government in 2009, and appealed to people to “throw out politicians who tap women’s phones”.
