Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi launch fresh salvo against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Uttar Pradesh election rallies

Congress president Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi campaigned in parts of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. While Priyanka carried out road shows in Khaga, Ghazipur and Hamirpur, Rahul addressed rallies in Lakhimpur, Kheri, Unnao and Kanpur. In Kheri, Rahul campaigned in support of party candidate Zafar Ali Naqvi. He also visited Lakhimpur along with party in-charge for western Uttar Pradesh Jyotiraditya Scindia. [caption id=“attachment_6511351” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Priyanka Gandhi at a rally on Wednesday. Twitter @INCUttarPradesh[/caption] Launching a fresh salvo at Narendra Modi in Kheri, Rahul accused the prime minister of shielding interests of “15 selected people” while leaving farmers and the poor “high and dry”. Apart from Naqvi, Rahul was also campaigning for the party nominee for the Nighasan Assembly bypoll, Atal Shukla. Recalling that Modi had assured farmers in Uttar Pradesh that they would receive their sugarcane dues within 14 days, Rahul asked, “Has any assurance come true in five years? Modi had made false assurances of ‘achhe din’ in 2014, two crore jobs, Rs 15 lakh in every bank account but none came true.” Reiterating the ‘chowkidar’ jibe, Rahul once again said, “This chowkidar obliged 15 selected people during his five-year term.” The Congress president later also raked up the Rafale issue even as he spoke how the ‘Nyay’ scheme has been “pronounced after due consultation with economists and think-tanks”. He also promised the youths that if the Congress is voted to power, the Centre will fill up 22 lakh government vacancies within a year after assuming office, besides employing 10 lakh youths in panchayats. Through Nyay, the party has promised to give an annual income support of Rs 72,000 to poor families under the scheme, if voted to power, even as the BJP claimed that ‘Nyay’ will “ruin” fiscal discipline and the Congress will impose new taxes on the middle class to finance it. “The Congress manifesto reflects the views and suggestions of the common people and not mann ki baat”, Rahul added, taking a swipe at Modi’s monthly radio broadcast. Raising the contentious stray cattle issue, Rahul further said, “The Modi government has made every farmer a chowkidar of their crops but the prime minister himself became Ambani’s chowkidar.” Priyanka, on the other hand, termed the Prime Minister a “pradhan prachar mantri” during her rally in Banda, while accusing the saffron party of wasting drinking water in this water-starved town in Uttar Pradesh’s arid Budelkhand region. “The water from tankers is being used to clean roads to welcome the Prime Minister. This is happening when the entire Bundelkhand is facing the terror of drought,” she said. Later, in a tweet, she also said, “Is he a ‘chowkidar’ (watchman) or a ‘shahnshah’ (emperor) coming from Delhi.” Her tweet was in response to Modi’s proposed election rally in the state on Thursday. In Fatehpur, Priyanka lashed out at the ruling party saying, “The BJP government keeps talking about my family. Half of their political speeches are about what [Jawaharlal] Nehru_ji_ did and what Indira Gandhi did. But they never talk about what they have done in the past five years.” She also asked voters to help end the “politics of divisiveness and negativity” and teach the BJP “a lesson” in the Lok Sabha elections. “Remove the politics of divisiveness and negativity, and usher in politics which speaks about you, your grievances and makes efforts to redress them,” the Congress general secretary said. In democracy, there is nothing bigger than the power of the people, Priyanka, who is in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh for her party, said. Uttar Pradesh, where 80 Lok Sabha seats are at stake, is undergoing polls during all seven phases. So far, the election has been held for 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Fatehpur goes to polls on 6 May in the fifth phase. With inputs from agencies