Arrogance led to downfall of Duryodhana, says Priyanka

Nitin Jain
Tribune News Service
Ambala, May 7

Using the Mahabharata analogy to hit back at PM Narendra Modi over his “Bhrashtachari (corrupt) no. 1” jibe at her late father Rajiv Gandhi, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra today said: “Modi is as arrogant as Duryodhana.”

Addressing a rally in support of Kumari Selja, party candidate from Ambala, at Gandhi Ground, she said “palpable anger against the PM’s arrogance” would bring the Congress back to power at the Centre.

“This nation has never forgiven ego and arrogance. Mahabharata is witness to this. Duryodhana also had such arrogance. When Lord Krishna went to make him understand, he tried to take him captive,” she said. Saying wisdom is the first casualty before someone’s downfall, she read out a couplet by Hindi poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar: “Jab naash manush par chhata hai, pehle vivek mar jata hai.”

She said if the PM had “courage”, he should fight the LS polls on issues related to development, employment, farmers and women. “He should face people and tell them what he has done for them in the past five years and what he plans to do in future. As a PM, he should understand this, otherwise people will teach him a lesson,” she said.

On Modi’s remark against her father, she said: “You cannot mislead people. They make every leader answerable and they will make you answerable as well.”

Priyanka said instead of talking about “real” issues and telling people why they did not fulfil their promises, BJP leaders were raising other issues while seeking votes. “Sometimes they say the elephant was sleeping for 70 years, sometimes they seek votes in the name of martyrs, and at other times they insult my family members who sacrificed their lives for the nation,” she rued.

“Where are ‘achhe din’? The Rs 15 lakh that they promised to credit in everyone’s accounts? The two crore jobs per annum?” she asked.

Selja, Rajya Sabha MP and former Union Minister, is pitted against sitting BJP MP Rattan Lal Kataria in Ambala (reserved) parliamentary constituency. Selja too attacked the BJP and Kataria, saying he proved to be a “complete failure”.

Priyanka is the third generation Congress leader to address a rally at Gandhi Ground. Her parents Sonia Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, and grandmother Indira Gandhi too had addressed rallies here.