In a fiery speech delivered on May 12, Home Minister Amit Shah unleashed a blistering tirade against senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, accusing her of diverting a significant portion of her MP funds towards minorities and branded the Gandhi family as habitual liars.
Sonia Gandhi has spent more than 70 percent of the MP funds on minorities," Shah claimed.
"The 'shahzada' (prince) has come here to seek votes. You have been voting for many years. Have you received anything from the MP fund? If you have not received it, then where did it go? It went to their vote bank. Sonia Gandhi has spent more than 70 percent of the MP funds on minorities," Shah claimed.
Shah's remarks came during an election rally in Rae Bareli, where Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi's son, is contesting in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Rae Bareli, a stronghold of the Gandhi family for decades, is set to vote in the fifth phase of the elections on May 20.
Addressing the crowd, Shah slammed the Gandhi family for alleged lack of development initiatives in Rae Bareli, despite holding sway over the constituency for years.
Shah said, "You gave the Gandhi family a chance for years, but no development work has been done ... They (Congress) do not believe in development. They do not even come to you in your happiness and sorrows."
He urged voters to support BJP candidate Dinesh Pratap Singh, promising to integrate Rae Bareli into Prime Minister Modi's development agenda. Asking people to vote for Dinesh Pratap Singh, the Union minister said, "We will connect Rae Bareli with Modiji's development journey."
Shah accused Sonia Gandhi of allocating a substantial portion of her MP funds towards minorities, implying that this was aimed at securing their support for votes.
Shah further questioned the Gandhi family's commitment to Rae Bareli's development, highlighting their purported absence from the constituency post-election victories. He underscored the perceived neglect by Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra towards the constituency's welfare.
He said, "This Gandhi family is an expert in lying. They are now promising Rs 1 lakh for every woman. In the Telangana (assembly) elections, they had said that they would give Rs 15,000 to every woman. The women of the state elected them (Congress) ... Forget about Rs 15,000, they did not even give Rs 1,500."
"Many people here told me that this is a family seat... It is true. The people of Raebareli have made the Gandhi and Nehru families win for years. But after getting elected from here, how many times did Sonia Ji and her family come to Rae Bareli? Okay, Sonia ji's health is not good, but has Rahul baba or sister Priyanka come?"
(With PTI inputs)Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
Find the best of Al News in one place, specially curated for you every weekend.
Stay on top of the latest tech trends and biggest startup news.