Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on July 16 hit out at Yogi Adityanath-led UP government for attacking democracy and spreading anarchy in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress leader accused the UP government of inciting violence during recent panchayat elections.
"Yesterday, PM Modi said there is 'Vikaswaad' in UP. What kind of Vikaswaad is this? You conducted panchayat polls during second COVID wave and teachers died. Now during block polls, you incited violence," she said
"Somewhere they are orchestrating violence, somewhere they are firing bullets. What is happening in this state?" asked Gandhi who arrived in Lucknow on a two-day election-preparation visit to a rousing reception by party workers earlier in the day.
"Do you think that people and opposition will stay silent? The UP government is behind this anarchy. They have completely failed, especially in the second wave of COVID-19. And then they get certificates from their own Prime Minister," she told the media at UP Congress office in Lucknow.
“Democracy and constitution are under threat in UP. The situation has turned from bad to worse. We are here to save democracy. We will not let this happen,” Gandhi said.
Before the media interaction, Gandhi staged a silent protest before a Mahatma Gandhi statue in GPO Park in the state capital against the Yogi Adityanath government in the poll-bound state.
"I sat in a silent potest as I wanted to draw people's attention
to disturbing democracy in Uttar Pradesh," she said after the protest
She was joined by her party leaders including state Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu.
"Woman are not safe in the state. Priyankaji is sitting on a maun vrat (silent protest) at the feet of Mahatma Gandhi for ending this jungle raj and to uproot this dictatorial government," Lallu was quoted by news agency PTI.
Gandhi's visit comes months ahead of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, where she faces an uphill task of reviving the party’s prospectus after being relegated to margins in the 2017 polls won by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).
Before landing in Lucknow, Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for praising the Uttar Pradesh government for its handling of the COVID-19 crisis. She said that an endorsement "certificate" from PM Modi cannot hide the truth of the Yogi Adityanath dispensation's "cruelty, negligence and mismanagement" during the second wave of the COVID-19
READ: Priyanka Gandhi’s Uttar Pradesh campaign — too late already?
"Modi ji's certificate cannot hide the truth of Yogi government's aggressive cruelty, negligence and mismanagement during the second wave of coronavirus spread in Uttar Pradesh," she said in a tweet in Hindi.
PM Modi, during a visit to Varanasi on July 15, praised the Uttar Pradesh government for its handling of the COVID-19 crisis and said the way it had controlled the second wave was "unprecedented".
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