Lakhimpur (Assam): Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday said the BJP had played no role in country’s freedom struggle which was spearheaded by Congress and called upon the people to ignore ‘tall talks and false promises’ of the BJP and vote for the Congress candidates overwhelmingly.
Addressing her first election rally in Assam at Lakhimpur, Ms Gandhi said the BJP leaders were out to create an impression as if they were the only and true patriots, whereas they have done nothing for the poor unlike the Congress.
“It is the Congress which has been with all sections of the society during every crisis and working relentlessly for all in the society irrespective of caste, creed, religion. It has sacrificed a lot to maintain the threads of brotherhood in the country. Where were they when the Congress was fighting to free the country? They were nowhere,” she said.
“BJP’s divisive ideology is spreading hatred in the name of unity to impose a single identity”, Sonia said flaying the BJP for “hiding their real face behind the mask of moderate pretensions.”
She accused BJP of leveling false allegations against Congress leaders and accused it of spreading violence.
She questioned the performance of the then-NDA government and wondered “what did they do when they were in power?”
“There is a vast difference between talking and working,” she added.
Asserting that the Congress has been continuously striving to empower all sections of the society, she claimed that social development recorded during the Congress regime was like never before.
“We have given more and rights to the people. The fruits of our struggle are for all to see,” she said, mentioning some of the “achievements” of the UPA like RTI, MGNREGA and others.
Ms Gandhi also claimed that her party was able to fulfill the promises made in the manifesto of the 2009 Lok Sabha elections and said Congress kept what it promised unlike the BJP which is into the habit of ‘tall talk’.