PM'S oratory cannot fill stomach of poor: Sonia
VIJAYAPURA: UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday made a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of being intolerant and also that his oratory cannot fill the stomach of the poor.
Addressing a rally here hours after Modi spoke, she lashed out at his government, saying it had cold-shouldered Karnataka.
“Modiji is besotted with Congress-free India. Leave Congressfree India; he cannot even tolerate anyone in front of him,” Gandhi said in her first rally in about two years.
She said Modi might be a good speaker, but speeches alone cannot solve problems of the people.
“He (Modi) is proud of his oratory skills. If his oratory can fill hungry stomachs, he must speak more often. Speeches cannot fill the stomach of the hungry. Speeches cannot empower women, cure those suffering from diseases; it cannot create employment. For all this you need strong commitment, determination and good intention,” she said.
Lauding the Siddaramaiah government for its initiatives concerning the poor and the farmers, she urged people to defeat the BJP over its “jumlas”.
“BJP people come, make false promises, create hatred and return. I know that you will unmask each of their jumlas and form a Congress government with a clear majority,” Gandhi said in her brief speech.
She said that ending corruption was among tall promises of Modi, but he had failed to appoint a Lokpal.
“What is his model of ending corruption. Wherever he addresses rallies in Karnataka, there are people around him. Will you adopt their model or you will adopt the model of your closest associate,” she said.
She said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had sought time to meet Modi, but an appointment was not given.
“He (Modi) has insulted the people of Karnataka. It is surprising that states which faced drought were given crores of rupees, but Karnataka was given the least. This was like adding salt to the injury of farmers of Karnataka. Is this your ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikas’?” she asked.
Claiming that the Modi government over the past four years had carried out only one task - of ending the good works of the UPA government, she accused him of speaking lies and distorting historical facts.
BENGALURU: Ahead of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's visit to poll-bound Karnataka on Tuesday, the BJP raked up the issue of her Italian origin by referring to her maiden name Antonio Maino.
“Today, Ms. Antonio Maino is here in K'taka to save her last citadel from falling! Madam Maino, K'taka needs no lessons from the person who was solely responsible for wastingindia's 10 precious years.
“And to Congress, need to remind you of your ‘import' jibe?” Karnataka BJP said in a tweet.
The BJP was responding to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's recent remarks calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his own Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath “North Indian imports”.
“@Bjp4karnataka by waiting for North Indian imports like PM Modi, UPCM Adityanath is admitting they have no leaders in the state. They have reduced their CM face @ BSYBJP to a dummy,” Siddaramaiah had tweeted.
Hitting back, BJP had then said in a tweet, “Imports? How much low can you stoop Mr. CM? Your attempt at NorthSouth divide is disgusting.”
It is not the first time that the issue of Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin has been raked up during the Karnataka polls.
At an election rally on May 1 Modi had dared Rahul Gandhi to talk for 15 minutes about the achievements of the Karnataka government in any language, including his “mother's mother tongue”.
Modi was responding to Rahul Gandhi's dare to allow him to speak for 15 minutes in Parliament on various issues, including corruption, and that the prime minister will not be able to sit for 15 minutes.
“I dare the Congress president to speak in Hindi, English or the mother tongue of his mother to deliver a speech in Karnataka for 15 minutes, without reading out from a piece of paper, on the achievements of the party government...people of Karnataka will draw their own conclusion,” he said.