Words cannot fill stomachs — Sonia
Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi yesterday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of being intolerant and also that the stomach of the poor cannot be filled by his oratory.
Addressing a rally here hours after Modi spoke, she lashed out at his government, saying it had discriminated against Karnataka.
“Modiji is besotted with Congress-free India. Leave Congress-free India, he cannot even tolerate anyone in front of him,” Gandhi said in her first rally in about two years.
She said Modi may 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” (rhetorics).
“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 clear majority,” Gandhi said in her brief speech.
Congress destroyed country for a dynasty: Modi
Accusing the Congress of destroying the country to promote a dynasty, Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday said the party was set back while trying to save that dynasty (Nehru-Gandhi family).
“One thing is clear — the Congress destroyed the nation in promoting a dynasty. Today, to save that dynasty, the Congress is getting destroyed,” he said at a rally here.
Modi also targeted the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in the poll-bound state, saying there was “not even a single minister who has not faced allegations of corruption”.
The prime minister accused the Congress of trying to gain votes by seeking to divide communities. He claimed that the Congress was spreading lies on the issue of women’s security and said that a daughter is a daughter, irrespective of the community she belongs to.
“Whether a daughter is a Hindu, a Muslim, or a Christian, a daughter is a daughter. Whichever community or religion she belongs to, should a daughter not be respected? Should she not get security?” he asked.